He settled in Northumberland, Pennsylvania although his scientific work never recovered from his forced departure. He therefore emigrated to America in 1794 where his friends included Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin. Ultimately his political and religious attitudes provoked a riot during which his home and his scientific equipment were destroyed. In addition he was a supporter of both the French and American Revolutions. ![]() As a result his extreme liberal views were severely criticized by the established Church of England. Priestley was a product of the Enlightenment and argued that all beliefs should be able to stand the scientific scrutiny of experimental investigations. However, most of his writings were in theology because he was a conscientious clergyman all his life. In addition to oxygen, Priestley isolated and characterized seven other gases. Lavoisier (1743–1794) repeated Priestley's initial experiment and went on to describe the true nature of oxygen that had eluded Priestley, who never abandoned the erroneous phlogiston theory. The gas was actually first prepared by Scheele (1742–1786) but his report was delayed. In addition his descriptions in elegant 18th-century English were particularly arresting, and rereading them never fails to give a special pleasure. ![]() As such he merits a special place in the history of respiratory physiology. Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) was the first person to report the discovery of oxygen and describe some of its extraordinary properties.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |