Mad scientist dangerous or questionable, which can make them accidental villains. The prototypical fictional mad scientist was Victor Frankenstein, creator of his eponymous monster, who made his first appearance in 1818, in the novel "Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus" by Mary Shelley. Though the novel's title character, Victor Frankenstein, is a sympathetic character, the critical element of conducting experiments that cross "boundaries that ought not to be crossed", heedless of the consequences, is present in Shelley's novel. Frankenstein was trained as both an alchemist and a modern scientist, which makes him the bridge between two eras of an evolving archetype. The book
USS Prometheus (1814) USS Prometheus (1814) The first USS "Prometheus" was a brig in the United States Navy from 1814 to 1818. "Prometheus" was built by William Seguin, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; purchased in 1814 by the Navy from Messrs. Savage and Dryan, the original owners, as the brig "Escape"; commissioned and renamed "Prometheus", she was fitted out at Philadelphia by Master Commandant Joseph J. Nicholson. In March–May 1815 she made a cruise to the West Indies to carry U.S. Senators Eligius Fromentin and James Brown to Havana. She sailed for Europe on 14 August 1816 to take Edward Coles, special messenger from the President