# The Discovery of Morniel Mathaway **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 17, 2023, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-discovery-of-morniel-mathaway/981270 "2023-03-17T02:06:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2023, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-discovery-of-morniel-mathaway/981270/1 "2023-03-17T02:06:18Z")
_[The Discovery of Morniel Mathaway](https://archive.org/details/galaxymagazine-1955-10/page/n45/mode/2up?view=theater)_ is a famous 1955 SF story by William Tenn (pseudonym of Philip Klass). I believe it’s one of the earliest examples of the SF trope where an important invention or (in this case) artwork is taken back in time where its “creator” sees it and then creates it by copying it, raising the question of where it came from in the first place. Anyway, what I’m curious about is the name of the character, artist Morniel Mathaway. Both the first name and the last name are weird and rare to the point of being unique. Googling either one produces almost nothing except references to the story. The story appears to take place in the 1950s, so it’s not supposed to be an alien or futuristic name. Any ideas on where Klass may have come up with the name? It almost sounds like a parody of another name, such as Daniel Hathaway or something. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2023, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-discovery-of-morniel-mathaway/981270/2 "2023-03-17T03:51:43Z")
> **[By His Bootstraps](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/By_His_Bootstraps)** > > "By His Bootstraps" is a 20,000 word science fiction novella by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. It plays with some of the inherent paradoxes that would be caused by time travel. > The story was published in the October 1941 issue of Astounding Science Fiction under the pen name Anson MacDonald; the same issue has "Common Sense" under Heinlein's name. "By His Bootstraps" was reprinted in Heinlein's 1959 collection The Menace From Earth, and in several subsequent anthologies, and is now availabl... 1941 pre-dates the idea to some degree. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2023, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-discovery-of-morniel-mathaway/981270/3 "2023-03-17T23:42:41Z")
Tenn certainly wanted a name that was unusual, for two reasons: First, it had to be a name that was believable as a famous artist name. If the name sounded common, it would be hard to believe that it would be instantly recognizable as being “that famous artist’s name” (there would be too many other “John Smiths” around for that name to work). Second, in the 1950s, famous artists had names that sounded unusual to typical American ears (even if the names were not unusual in their native culture) - think “Pablo Picasso” or “Salvador Dalí”). Morniel Mathaway is easily pronounceable (it’s not alien like “Exoder Zalquil” would seem), but it satisfies the two criteria above - it’s unique enough that you can believe that in the future it would be instantly recognizable, but it sounds a bit exotic. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2023, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-discovery-of-morniel-mathaway/981270/4 "2023-03-18T00:00:50Z")
The OP said “one of the earliest,” not “the earliest.” Stop treading on my pet peeves.