Professor McGovern: The Inspiration behind Indiana Jones
Jonathan Smyth's latest Times Past column looks at William Montgomery McGovern, one of the people who inspired the creation of Indiana Jones.
Nine years ago, when I first began to write Times Past, it was my intention to lift back the curtain and reveal some of the lesser known stories of Cavan’s sons and daughters, as well as exploring the rich history of our native county.
Recently, when Oliver Brady phoned, he began telling me about the fearless exploits of William Montgomery McGovern, and the exotic locales he visited. I was fascinated, and then, when he said, do you know this McGovern guy was said to have been the inspiration for Indiana Jones, - well that clinched it and I was by then hooked on the story.
Indiana Jones is my favourite fictional archaeologist, and I especially liked the third film, Indiana Jones, and the Last Crusade, not just for the movie’s plot, but because it starred a grizzled Sean Connery in top form as the archaeologist’s middle-aged father.
After some further research, I discovered that there were five people around whom Indiana Jones was based and central to those five people was Dr William Montgomery McGovern. I am indebted to Oliver Brady for the subject of this week’s column. Oliver is a superb historian and one of West Cavan’s stalwarts when it comes to seeking local knowledge.
The McGovern or MacGauran clan are a well-known sept from West Cavan and their descendants can be found in communities around the world. The name is a variant of the Irish word Samhra, meaning summer, and the town of Ballymagauran is of significance and a permanent reminder to the clans undisputed Cavan roots.
Felix Daniel Chauncey McGovern, known as Chauncey McGovern, was a famous handwriting expert and criminologist who wrote a book on ‘Detecting Criminal Handwriting.’ Chauncey helped the police in California on many cases including the unsolved murder of a rich lady named Sarah Coburn, in 1919, at Pescadero. Chauncey’s first wife was Mrs Janet Blair McGovern, and while living in Manhattan they had an only son, William Montgomery McGovern, the central figure of this week’s column. William appears to have inherited his mother’s adventurous nature, for when he was six weeks old in November 1897 she brought him to Mexico, ‘just to see a revolution’.
Professor William M. McGovern, the globetrotting adventurer travelled widely and studied many remote civilisations and on his return to America would regale his students with tales of daring deeds. In McGovern’s, ‘Jungle Paths and Inca Ruins,’ he states: ‘There is always a touch of romance about the unknown, and in my journey through South America I was to see and study the unknown both of the present and of the past.’ His experiences would match anything seen on the big screen, and the chapters in the book include such headings as ‘Into Hostile Territory;’ ‘Cannibalistic Orgies;’ and ‘Wherein a Buried City comes to Light.’
He reminisced over how a trip to South America began, after having attempted to live a more humdrum life in London as a lecturer, but then, he received a call from an old college friend, Lord Hastings, who asked McGovern to join him on an expedition to the Amazon and Andes as an assistant. However, circumstances changed and with Hastings unable to travel, the expedition was placed entirely upon McGovern’s shoulders. In his last chapter, he describes an archaeological team digging away golden sands to reveal a lost city of the Inca people and how the further discovery of embalmed mummies were of an even greater interest to him than the ancient buildings themselves.
In October 1931, The Irish Times reported that the intrepid Dr William McGovern had sparked a ‘fashion headline’ in the jungles of South America having brought along a quantity of beads to ‘trade with the natives’ but soon realised that they displayed a preference for the blue and white beads ( good Cavan colours). The quantity of this type of bead was in short supply and to help sway the tribe’s choice of beads, McGovern and his expedition team wore red and green beads about their necks and the local inhabitants on seeing the white men dressed so, desired to wear the same. The remaining blue and white beads were only permitted to be worn by the ‘native carriers’ which The Irish Times labelled as a ‘jungle strategy’.
Professor McGovern taught comparative politics and political theory in political science in Northwestern University, Chicago, from 1929 until his death in 1964. The university’s’ website states that: ‘He often lectured in Harris Hall 107 to an overflowing crowd of 300 students fascinated by his insights and anecdotes.’
His students, after his death, funded the ‘McGovern Award,’ an annual financial prize offered to ‘outstanding graduating political science majors’ in recognition of ‘excellence in scholarship, leadership, and University citizenship.’
An article, I read, whose headline began, ‘Our Very own Indiana Jones,’ written by Christopher Danzig also appeared on the Northwestern University website and makes an enlightening read which brings to life the exploits and personality of William McGovern. Perhaps, William’s most daring caper was entering the forbidden city of Lhasa in Tibet as told in ‘To Lhasa in disguise, a secret expedition through mysterious Tibet.’ During the risky trip, he disguised himself as a servant and crossed ‘the Himalayas in the middle of winter with Tibetan guides,’ got lost in a snowstorm and ended up with dysentery, wrote Danzig. He stood naked in the snow to allow the guides to stain his body brown and squirted lemon juice into his blue eyes to blacken them.
He managed to get inside Lhasa, and all was fine until the monks found out and assembled themselves into a ‘fanatical mob’ to fire stones at the house McGovern was staying in. However, being of quick wit, he slipped out the back door and began helping the rabble to throw the rocks. Time magazine later reported that the Tibetan civil government placed him in protective custody until he could return under escort to India. McGovern’s books include, ‘Modern Japan - its political, military, and industrial organisation;’ ‘A Manual of Buddhist Philosophy;’ and ‘From Luther to Hitler: The History of Fascist-Nazi Political Philosophy.’
William Montgomery McGovern made an indelible impression on the American public and his portrait is proudly displayed to this day at Northeastern University as a shining example to students, reminding them to go forth, and live their dreams.
Although, we cannot state categorically which of William McGovern’s ancestors came from Cavan, we may be certain, that one of them did.
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