Thick Skull

For some reason, somebody writing in a Massachusetts newspaper in late 1772 chose the pen name “Thick Skull.” It was common at that time for people to use pen names when writing something for a newspaper or pamphlet, and the pen names usually had some special meaning, but why this person chose to call himself “Thick Skull” is beyond me.

Thick Skull - Boston-Gazette and Country Journal 4 Jan 1773 p2
“Thick Skull” defended his pen name in a Boston newspaper in January 1773.

I haven’t found the article he presumably wrote under this pseudonym; I only came across a little paragraph in The Boston-Gazette, and Country Journal of January 4, 1773, where he made a comment about himself. Apparently somebody made fun of his choice of name (which is certainly understandable), and he responded:

THICK SKULL, would acquaint the anonymous writer in Draper’s last paper, that he does not think himself in the least “unlucky in the choice of his signature”, as his choice was deliberate; rather thinks himself happy that this writer should think that “the signature fits him”, and that for once at least he is like to have “great proof” in his favour.

Maybe if I find the original article or pamphlet, I can figure out why he called himself that — or if the only reason was that he actually had a thick skull or a large head or something. (I assume that he wasn’t trying to say that he was stupid.) If I find out, I’ll let you know. In the meanwhile, I’ve started thinking: If I were to use a pen name, what would I pick?

Some pen names used during the Revolutionary period were:

  • Americanus (“an American”)
  • Novanglus (“a New Englander”) and Massachusettensis (“a Massachusettsian”); these were used by John Adams and Daniel Leonard in a newspaper debate
  • Common Sense (this was not only the title of Thomas Paine’s famous pamphlet, but also the pen name he used for this and a number of other pamphlets)
  • Cato (the name of an ancient Roman politician; this was probably used a number of times by a number of people, but one of the people who used it was someone who disagreed with “Common Sense”)
  • The Forester (which Thomas Paine used to respond to “Cato”; I’m not sure why he chose that one)
  • Age & Experience
  • J. (used by Jonathan Sewall)
  • U. (used by John Adams)

Source

The Boston-Gazette, and Country Journal, 4 January 1773, p. 2.