#13: The Predictions of Isaac Bickerstaff

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#13: The Predictions of Isaac Bickerstaff

In February 1708 a previously unknown London astrologer named Isaac Bickerstaff published an almanac in which he predicted the death by fever of the famous rival astrologer John Partridge. According to Bickerstaff, Partridge would die on March 29 of that year. Partridge indignantly denied the prediction, but on March 30 Bickerstaff released a pamphlet announcing that he had been correct: Partridge was dead. It took a day for the news to settle in, but soon everyone had heard of the astrologer's demise. On April 1, April Fool's Day, Partridge was woken by a sexton outside his window who wanted to know if there were any orders for his funeral sermon. Then, as Partridge walked down the street, people stared at him as if they were looking at a ghost or stopped to tell him that he looked exactly like someone they knew who was dead. As hard as he tried, Partridge couldn't convince people that he wasn't dead. Bickerstaff, it turned out, was a pseudonym for the great satirist Jonathan Swift. His prognosticatory practical joke upon Partridge worked so well that the astrologer finally was forced to stop publishing his almanacs, because he couldn't shake his reputation as the man whose death had been foretold.

Comments
Listed in chronological order. Newest comments at the end.

Page 1 of 1 pages

I REALY LIKEED THIS ONE!
Posted by brittany in paris, france on Thu Apr 01, 2004 at 10:32 AM

How stupid can people be? When they see tyhe man walk down the street on April 1, they can't imagine it being a prank someone did on him? I would have believed him, anyway. Poor man, lost his job and everything!
Posted by Anna in Norway on Thu Apr 01, 2004 at 11:01 AM

Wow, people are dumb!
Posted by Supercletus on Fri Apr 02, 2004 at 02:04 PM

What the! This was the number 1 prank last year when I was here. What happened? It IS the best, don't you think?
Posted by TheDS on Sun Sep 12, 2004 at 07:44 AM

AAAAHH, PLANNING.

This one was definately well executed.

No pun intended.
Posted by Rod in the land of smarties. on Tue Mar 22, 2005 at 04:24 PM

think about it, it was in the 1700...
poeple are dumb today, makes you wonder how it was back then

Posted by Ivar on Sun Apr 03, 2005 at 09:55 AM

Anna .. Think of it .. It was the 1700s! Like Ivar says, people are dumb today .. I'm sure there were lesser number of dumb people then, but there would've been some for sure

Posted by wiselyunwise on Tue Apr 05, 2005 at 09:04 AM

who's dumb? I think Rob who can't spell "definitely" is extremely dumb when he is calling others dumb
Posted by Who's dumb? on Fri Apr 08, 2005 at 02:34 PM

Well everyone who was exposed the prank already believed in astrology, so I would expect a higher ratio of dumb people to believe this prank then a general sample of the population.
Posted by Morgan on Fri Apr 08, 2005 at 09:27 PM

Maybe in the 1700's April Fools jokes weren't as commonplace as they are today?

Anyway, who cares if he lost his job? After all, he was an astrologer, swindling common people for their money.
Posted by vuzlyn on Sat Apr 09, 2005 at 09:33 PM

Wow. So many of the comments here have actually made my brain pray for sedation... please, PLEASE tell me most of the posters are either A)seriously mentally retarded, B)3-year-olds, or C)joking. I seriously hope these comments are not how the vast majority of the world communicates or we are in serious trouble...
Posted by Laura on Mon May 16, 2005 at 03:31 PM

Oh honestly people!
One, look at when this happened (1708) And look at who did it (Swift)! Swift is amazing for pulling this off, he tok his satire beyond book level and actually made someone lose his job! that's fantastic!

now then, go be smart little sheep and read A Modest Proposal and Gulliver's Travels.
Posted by Llewllynn on Sat Feb 11, 2006 at 09:16 PM

Oh I can't wait for this year's April Fool's Day to come!!
Posted by Jennifer in houston, TX on Wed Mar 22, 2006 at 11:14 AM

This is very funny, Swift is a master. My English teacher had us read A Modest Proposal the other day, and failed to mention that it was real, not satire. A couple of people, realizing that it was March 31st, didn't fall for it, but there were some who started freaking out, "OMG, they ate babies?!?!"
Posted by Jo in Spain on Sun Apr 02, 2006 at 01:43 AM

I don't know why so many of you are surprised that people are that dumb... when people saw Jesus alive after being crucified, they thought he had come back from the dead, instead of concluding the obvious: that he hadn't died after all! And billions of people today still suffer that delusion. Christianity and Astrology are both still thriving!!
Posted by David in Sydney on Sat Jul 01, 2006 at 06:05 AM

Jonathan Swift was an arrogant ass, I'm glad he died.
Posted by Lit Major on Mon Aug 07, 2006 at 07:02 PM

Oh, for the good olde dayes when satirists ruled & lampooning a rival or a public figure was done with such style. Hmmm? Swift was pilloried for a few days & threatened with having his ears cropped, or was that DeFoe? He did get threatened with imprisonment for criticizing the gov't. of the day for it's monetary & taxation policies, especially as they were applied to Ireland. Swift had to deny his own death which was announced somewhat prematurely & did so in a poem.
Posted by Cole Banks in Coalbanks, NWT, Canada on Sun Apr 01, 2007 at 03:09 PM

Opie and anthony radio show did something similar they said the mayor was dead. Read more about them here

http://www.answers.com/topic/opie-and-anthony?cat=entertainment
Posted by RAMON!!!! in CLEVELAND on Tue Apr 01, 2008 at 12:20 PM

Wow, I suppose David thinks we really didn't land on the moon either! There is irrefutable evidence of Jesus' death and subsequent sightings of him after he rose. David, you should research things yourself before you buy into what someone else has told you... guess that is what these citizens did in the 1700's.
I think this prank was great! Swift just used Partridges’ yearly (and usually unreliable) predictions of famous people’s deaths against him. Wonderful!
Posted by tj in washington, usa on Tue Apr 01, 2008 at 06:27 PM

"Jonathan Swift was an arrogant ass, I'm glad he died.
Posted by Lit Major on Mon Aug 07, 2006 at 07:02 PM"

I'm glad he died too, I wouldn't want someone living over 200 years walking around either.

P.S. you're an idiot.
Posted by A Better Lit Major on Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 10:47 AM

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