Joseph Priestley

For the English lawyer, see Joseph Child Priestley. For the British lecturer in botany, see Joseph Hubert Priestley.

Joseph Priestley
FRS
Joseph Priestley
Portrait of Priestley, 1801
Born24 March [O.S. 13 March] 1733
Birstall, Yorkshire, England
Died6 February 1804(1804-02-06) (aged 70)
Northumberland, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Occupations
Known for
Awards

Joseph Priestley FRS (/ˈpriːstli/;[3] 24 March 1733 – 6 February 1804) was an English chemist, Unitarian, natural philosopher, separatist theologian, grammarian, multi-subject educator and classical liberal political theorist.[4] He published over 150 works, and conducted experiments in several areas of science.[5][6]

Priestley is credited with his independent discovery of oxygen by the thermal decomposition of mercuric oxide,[7] having isolated it in 1774.[8] During his lifetime, Priestley's considerable scientific reputation rested on his invention of carbonated water, his writings on electricity, and his discovery of several "airs" (gases), the most famous[9] being what Priestley dubbed "dephlogisticated air" (oxygen). Priestley's determination to defend phlogiston theory and to reject what would become the chemical revolution eventually left him isolated within the scientific community.

Priestley's science was integral to his theology, and he consistently tried to fuse Enlightenment rationalism with Christian theism.[10] In his metaphysical texts, Priestley attempted to combine theism, materialism, and determinism, a project that has been called "audacious and original".[11] He believed that a proper understanding of the natural world would promote human progress and eventually bring about the Christian millennium.[11] Priestley, who strongly believed in the free and open exchange of ideas, advocated toleration and equal rights for religious Dissenters, which also led him to help found Unitarianism in England. The controversial nature of Priestley's publications, combined with his outspoken support of the American Revolution and later the French Revolution,[12][13] aroused public and governmental contempt; eventually forcing him to flee in 1791, first to London and then to the United States, after a mob burned down his Birmingham home and church. He spent his last ten years in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania.

A scholar and teacher throughout his life, Priestley made significant contributions to pedagogy, including the publication of a seminal work on English grammar and books on history; he prepared some of the most influential early timelines. The educational writings were among Priestley's most popular works. Arguably his metaphysical works, however, had the most lasting influence, as now considered primary sources for utilitarianism by philosophers such as Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, and Herbert Spencer.

  1. ^ "List of Fellows of the Royal Society 1660–2007, K–Z". royalsociety.org. The Royal Society. Archived from the original on 12 December 2007. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  2. ^ "Copley archive winners 1799–1731". royalsociety.org. The Royal Society. Archived from the original on 11 January 2008. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  3. ^ "Priestley" Archived 30 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine: Collins English Dictionary – Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference oxford2004 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Isaacson, 2004, pp. 140–141, 289
  6. ^ Schofield, 1997, p. 142
  7. ^ H. I. Schlesinger (1950). General Chemistry (4th ed.). p. 134.
  8. ^ Although Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele also has strong claims to the discovery, Priestley published his findings first. Scheele discovered it by heating potassium nitrate, mercuric oxide, and many other substances in about 1772.
  9. ^ "Joseph Priestley, Discoverer of Oxygen National Historic Chemical Landmark". American Chemical Society. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  10. ^ Tapper, 10.
  11. ^ a b Tapper, 314.
  12. ^ Van Doren, p. 420
  13. ^ Schofield, 1997, p. 274