The View of Great White Sharks in 1916

Although knowing what we know about great whites in modern times, it is amazing to learn that as recent as 1916, the shark was not thought of as a dangerous animal. And it wasn't just the vast, uninformed public that had a grave misconception about these animals—it was the experts and experienced fishermen who claimed, at various times, that the shark was a timid, non-aggressive animal and that its jaw power was insufficient to bite through bones.

Dr. Frederic Augustus Lucas, director of the American Museum of Natural History, and his marine animal expert, Dr. John Nichols, both held fast to the theory that the attacks along the Jersey Shore were perpetrated by orcas, or killer whales. Experienced sailors and fishermen who presumably had first-hand observation of the sharks, stubbornly refused to believe that a great white shark had attacked and...