Thornwell Jacobs

Jacobs originated and conceived the Crypt of Civilization idea for a historic time treasure trove of 1930s cultural objects sealed in a specially designed room at Oglethorpe University.[8] The room was removed of oxygen and sealed off with welded steel doors in 1940 with the intention of the civilization of the 82nd century to find.[2][5][8] According to the Guinness Book of World Records it was successful in being first record of 20th century cultural objects buried away for any future occupants of Earth or visitors that may come to the planet.[9] He planned and designed the permanent storage space to preserve information of the early 20th century in 1930s. He discussed this proposal in an article in Scientific American, November 1936, because he was astounded by the shortage of information on people that lived in communities and settlements that were established as a basis for nations and empires that came about later.[10] Jacobs devised a plan to present a story of customs of humans on Earth and put it down in a detailed written design. He wanted to show the acquired knowledge of people, especially of the United States, up to the present time.[10]

Jacobs put Dr. Thomas Kimmwood Peters in charge of the project in 1937 because of his experience as a scientist, photographer, and inventor. For the next three years most every conceivable phase of living was investigated and cataloged. There were 960,000 pages of book knowledge microfilmed by specially designed cameras of Peters innovation. There were included to show the level of scientific achievement 250 motion pictures about industries, processes of manufacture, surgical operations, scenes of everyday life, fiction films, documentaries, a motion picture history of the United States from 1895 and a still photography history from 1840. Additionally to show the way of living in the 20th century fashions in 30 inch high miniature models were made dressed by prominent costume designers, complete with patterns for full-length reproduction in the future. Also included was a complete five-and-ten-cent store, dishes, newspapers, chewing gum, optical instruments, musical instruments, cataloged musical recordings, scale models of railroad locomotives, automobiles, yachts, ocean liners, airplanes, air-conditioning systems, and samples of food with associated drinks.[11]

The permanent closing of the crypt by welding the entrance door in place sealing it had ceremonies performed May 27, 1940. So that the Crypt of Civilization project and the tomb's location would not be lost, a series of records were made in all the world's major languages and then sent to repositories, libraries, and universities in key parts of the world. The Crypt was closed permanently on May 28, 1940. It is not intended to be opened again until at least May 28, 8113 C.E.. Because of this Oglethorpe University project Jacobs is known as the Father of Modern Time Capsules.[12][13]

George Edward Pendray is the one responsible for the Westinghouse Time Capsule that was buried in 1939 for the New York World's Fair that took place in 1939 and 1940.[10] He "borrowed" the original idea from Jacobs.[14] Originally Westinghouse's project was named time bomb because of its shape, but due to the time period of World War II this was not acceptable and Pendray then coined a new term of time capsule.[15][16] The date of 8113 C.E. was calculated by Jacobs from the first accepted historical fixed date, 4241 B.C.E. This is the time that chroniclers and scholars believe was when the Egyptian calendar became established. The Crypt's projected intended opening is in 6177 years.[5] This was what Jacobs determined as the number of years between 4241 BCE and 1936 CE. He then added the same amount of years to 1936, concluding the year as a midway time, and then decided the opening date of the crypt should be no earlier than 8113 A.D.[12]

• New Georgia Encyclopedia entry for Thornwell Jacobs
• Thornwell Jacobs (1877-1956) Find A Grave Memorial
• Thornwell Jacobs Legacy Celebration 2012-Oglethorpe University YouTube video.