The 3rd Most Famous Person Buried in Hyde Park, New York.

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, S.J.

This article is about the 3rd most famous person buried in Hyde Park, NY. That’s after you get past Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt-of course. French philosopher, author of almost 20 books and renowned paleontologist, he is buried on the ground of the Culinary Institute of America (C.I.A.) in Hyde Park. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin was a Jesuit Priest in the Roman Catholic Church. He was ordained a priest in 1911, and served as a stretcher-bearer in the trenches with the French Army from 1914 to 1918. After receiving his PhD in Geology, he was assigned to do work in the then infant field of paleontology, in China. 

  PHILOSOPHY Teilhard tried to find common ground between science and religion. In his major work, The Divine Milieu he focuses on the notion of grace. It is written for those who listen primarily to the voices of the Earth: its purpose is to provide a link to traditional Christianity in order to demonstrate that the fears prevalent in contemporary world society as mankind abuses its foundation and environment-our Mother Earth – may be better understood by the Gospel path. As important to us today, in these troubled times, he found a place for viewing the world and faith that transcended orthodox religious lines: "The outcome of the world, the gates of the future, the entry into the super-human--these are not thrown open to a few of the privileged nor to one chosen people to the exclusion of all others. They will open only to an advance of all together, in a direction in which all together can join and find completion in a spiritual renovation of the earth..." A somewhat daring view for a Roman Catholic Priest in the Pre-Vatican II world. 

  PILTDOWN MAN HOAX In 1912, an archaeologist in England made, what at first blush seemed to be, the most remarkable find in British paleontology. Parts of a human fashioned skull and an ape-like jawbone were discovered in a rural community known as Piltdown. The Piltdown Man was a crucial missing link between humans and apes. In an era when major finds were appearing though out the world, British Scientists wanted to believe their shores contained a home-grown member of the “missing-link” fraternity. They should have looked closer. Four decades later, carbon dating techniques and closer clinical reviews determined these bones to be just as they might appear: an ape-like jaw and a human skull. The entire discovery was revealed as a forgery. To some, it was the most ambitious scientific hoax ever mounted. Careers crumbled, textbooks had to be rewritten. Piltdown fossils were dishonorably withdrawn from the world famous British Museum in 1953. At the time of the hoax’s discovery only Teilhard, a young junior member of the 1912 study, was still alive to take the blame. 

  BURIED IN HYDE PARK Father Teilhard’s last assignment was at the Museum of Natural History in New York City. He died of a stroke in his Manhattan apartment, at the age of 74, on Easter Sunday. As a member of the Jesuits, the Society of Jesus (SJ), it customary to find a burial site at one of the orders cemeteries. At that time, St Andrews Seminary occupied the land overlooking the Hudson River in Hyde Park. He was moved to the simple cemetery where the C.I.A. now stands. He lies at rest with over one hundred members of his religious order, an order that has among its requirements a lifelong vow of poverty. 

  ECUMENICALISM One of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin’s lasting messages is the need to make a new effort to find a way to unite the divided churches of all religions, not just the Christians denominations. He called out for a new approach based on the future needs of humanity. He wanted to find a meeting ground for what he called the “pan-religious” elements of the world. This could well be a theme many more inhabitants of the world, of the verge of ripping itself apart over religions and there past grievances, should find very valuable in our troubled world. 

  Peking Man In 1929, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin was a part of a group of scientists that uncovered a skull that became known as Peking Man, a key evolutionary link that left Teilhard torn between science and his ancient faith, and would leave him ostracized by his beloved Catholic Church. (https://www.semcoop.com/jesuit-and-skullteilhard-de-chardin-evolution-and-search-peking-man retrieved April 3, 2024)

Traditional reconstruction of the Peking Man skull #hydepark #culinaryinstituteofamerica #piltdownman #paleontology #ECUMENICALISM #deChardin #pekingman This Article Originally Appeared in The HydePark Townsman 1996