Why is there a period in Harry S. Truman?
The musings of a man who sees everything
It occurred to me that this oddity and inaccurate grammar has gone largely unnoticed and unpunished. Many Americans who study history or are fans of American history, are probably aware that the S in Harry S. Truman stands for nothing. If you weren’t aware, you are now. Then why would we place a period after the S? This grammar citation indicates an abbreviation, like the word abbrev. But there’s nothing more to it, it’s an S without substance. If his middle name was Steven, he wouldn’t write Harry Steven. Truman. See what I mean? It’s odd isn’t it?
The face says it all. I got away with it.
I see these things everyday. My brain never quite shuts off, always searching for something. It’s made me incredibly detailed in the world of software development; finding and analyzing everything the user might possibly see. A company I worked for had a few offices around the country listed on their website. Behind each location was a photo identifying a landmark from that city. But something was off on New Jersey. Something’s always off about New Jersey, but jokes aside, this one irked me. The picture was that of the Freedom Tower and the Manhattan skyline. Having no affiliation or bias towards the state, I couldn’t help but feel that they were cheated. Because nothing says New Jersey quite like saying “we border New York.” I mentioned it to marketing and they brushed me off. “Oh, well, no one has said anything about it.” Technically the photo was taken from New Jersey in order to get the shot of the skyline, rendering the photo accurate from its source but inaccurate with it’s representation. Kinda like Harry S. Truman.
Maybe no one cares besides me. I can’t quite let it go. Diving into the research it shows that President Truman would sign with the period in his middle “name.” The nerve! So the rules just don’t apply? And we all just accept it. No, sorry, that’s not how it works. Someone must stand up for the overlooked and under appreciated. For the bullied and the bulldozed. Who’s going to do it? Me. Brock S. Vestrum. Yes, my middle name starts with a S and contains substance. What is it? That’s what the period is for my friends. If you’re curious enough, do what I do. Do the research.
I had always understood that the S had no period, but it does give me pause to learn from you that President Truman himself signed with a period. Frankly, that seems dispositive. But it prompts me to wonder how this was written on his birth certificate. Perhaps his middle name was actually composed of two characters, the S and the period? That would be interesting. But either way I suppose we ought to go with whichever convention Harry himself chose.