In 1919, Goddard published a short book titled "A Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes." It garnered some attention, not all positive. In an editorial, The New York Times haughtily dismissed his notion that a rocket could work in a vacuum as well as in an atmosphere, saying Goddard "seems to lack the knowledge ladled out daily in high schools."
Goddard defended himself and told one reporter that "every vision is a joke until the first man accomplishes it." In 1969, as Apollo 11 raced through space and three days before it landed on the moon, the Times printed a correction.
After we're done, I'll expect to receive your written apology. ;-)