NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Joseph Priestley

Joseph Priestley (13 March 1733 (Old Style) – 6 February 1804) was an 18th-century British theologian, Dissenting clergyman, natural philosopher, educator, and political theorist who published over 150 works. He is usually credited with the discovery of oxygen, having isolated it in its gaseous state, although Carl Wilhelm Scheele and Antoine Lavoisier also have a claim to the discovery.^[2] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... is the 72nd day of the year (73rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events February 12 - British colonist James Oglethorpe founds Savannah, Georgia. ... Old Style redirects here. ... is the 37th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1804 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Theology is literally rational discourse concerning God (Greek θεος, theos, God, + λογος, logos, rational discourse). By extension, it also refers to the study of other religious topics. ... English Dissenters were dissenters from England who opposed State interference in religious matters and founded their own communities over the 16th to 18th century period. ... Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. ... For the current in the 19th century German idealism, see Naturphilosophie Natural philosophy or the philosophy of nature, known in Latin as philosophia naturalis, is a term applied to the objective study of nature and the physical universe that was dominant before the development of modern science. ... The Politics series Politics Portal This box: Political philosophy is the study of fundamental questions about the state, government, politics, liberty, justice, property, rights, law and the enforcement of a legal code by authority: what they are, why (or even if) they are needed, what makes a government legitimate, what... This article is about the chemical element and its most stable form, or dioxygen. ... For other uses, see Gas (disambiguation). ... Carl Wilhelm Scheele Scheeles house with his pharmacy in KÃ¶ping. ... Lavoisier redirects here. ...

During his lifetime, Priestley's considerable scientific reputation rested on his invention of soda water, his writings on electricity, and his discovery of several "airs" (gases), the most famous being what Priestley dubbed "dephlogisticated air" (oxygen). However, Priestley's determination to defend phlogiston theory and to reject what would become the Chemical Revolution eventually left him isolated within the scientific community. Bubbles in carbonated water float to the surface. ... Electricity (from New Latin Ä“lectricus, amberlike) is a general term for a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. ... Phlogiston theory was a 17th century attempt to explain oxidation processes, such as fire and rust. ... The Chemical Revolution (or the first chemical revolution) denotes the reformulation of chemistry based on the Law of Conservation of Matter and the oxygen theory of combustion, and centered on the work of Antoine Lavoisier. ...

Priestley's science was integral to his theology, and he consistently tried to fuse Enlightenment rationalism with Christian theism.^[3] In his metaphysical texts, Priestley attempted to combine theism, materialism, and determinism, a project that has been called "audacious and original".^[4] He believed that a proper understanding of the natural world would promote human progress and eventually bring about the Christian Millennium.^[4] 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 French Revolution aroused public and governmental suspicion; he was eventually forced to flee to the United States after a mob burned down his home and church in 1791. The word Enlightment redirects here. ... Theism is the belief in the existence of one or more divinities or deities. ... In philosophy, materialism is that form of physicalism which holds that the only thing that can truly be said to exist is matter; that fundamentally, all things are composed of material and all phenomena are the result of material interactions; that matter is the only substance. ... This article is about the general notion of determinism in philosophy. ... Millennialism (or chiliasm), from millennium, which literally means thousand years, is primarily a belief expressed in some Christian denominations, and literature, that there will be a Golden Age or Paradise on Earth where Christ will reign prior to the final judgment and future eternal state, primarily derived from the book... For the Religioustolerance. ... English Dissenters were dissenters from England who opposed State interference in religious matters and founded their own communities over the 16th to 18th century period. ... Topics in Christianity Movements Â· Denominations Ecumenism Â· Preaching Â· Prayer Music Â· Liturgy Â· Calendar Symbols Â· Art Â· Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul Â· Church Fathers Constantine Â· Athanasius Â· Augustine Anselm Â· Aquinas Â· Palamas Â· Luther Calvin Â· Wesley Arius Â· Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury Â· Catholic Pope Coptic Pope Â· Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box: Unitarianism is the belief... The French Revolution (1789â€“1815) was a period of political and social upheaval in the political history of France and Europe as a whole, during which the French governmental structure, previously an absolute monarchy with feudal privileges for the aristocracy and Catholic clergy, underwent radical change to forms based on... The attack on Joseph Priestleys home, Fairhill (lithograph by Charles Joseph Hullmandel) The Priestley Riots (also known as the Birmingham Riots of 1791) took place from 14 July to 17 July 1791 in Birmingham, Kingdom of Great Britain; the rioters main targets were religious Dissenters, most notably the politically...

A scholar and teacher throughout his life, Priestley also made significant contributions to pedagogy, including the publication of a seminal work on English grammar and the invention of modern historiography. These educational writings were some of Priestley's most popular works. It was his metaphysical works, however, that had the most lasting influence: leading philosophers including Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, and Herbert Spencer credit them among the primary sources for utilitarianism. A Mongolian Pedagogical University Graduation Award Badge. ... For the rules of the English language, see English grammar. ... Historiography studies the processes by which historical knowledge is obtained and transmitted. ... Jeremy Bentham (IPA: ) (26 February [O.S. 15 February 15] 1748) â€“ June 6, 1832) was an English jurist, philosopher, and legal and social reformer. ... John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 â€“ 8 May 1873), British philosopher, political economist, civil servant and Member of Parliament, was an influential liberal thinker of the 19th century. ... For other persons named Herbert Spencer, see Herbert Spencer (disambiguation). ... This article discusses utilitarian ethical theory. ...

Early life and education (1733–55)

Priestley was born to an established English Dissenting family (i.e., they did not conform to the Church of England) in the West Riding of Yorkshire. He was the oldest of the six children born to Mary Swift and Jonas Priestley, a finisher of cloth. To ease his mother's burdens, Priestley was sent to live with his grandfather around the age of one; after his mother died five years later, he returned home. When his father remarried in 1741, Priestley went to live with his aunt and uncle, the wealthy and childless Sarah and John Keighley. Because Priestley was precocious—at the age of four he could flawlessly recite all 107 questions and answers of the Westminster Shorter Catechism—his aunt sought the best education for the boy, intending him for the ministry. During his youth, Priestley attended local schools where he learned Greek, Latin, and Hebrew.^[6] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Birstall is suburb of Batley, roughly 6 miles south-west of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. ... For other uses, see Leeds (disambiguation) and Leeds City (disambiguation). ... English Dissenters were dissenters from England who opposed State interference in religious matters and founded their own communities over the 16th to 18th century period. ... The Church of England is the officially established Christian church[3] in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the oldest among the communions thirty-eight independent national churches. ... The West Riding as an administrative county prior to its abolition in 1974. ... The Westminster Shorter Catechism (also known simply as the Shorter Catechism, hereinafter referred to as the WSC) was written in the 1640s by English and Scottish divines. ...

Around 1749, Priestley became seriously ill and believed he was dying. Raised as a devout Calvinist, he believed a conversion experience was necessary for salvation, but doubted he had had one. This emotional distress eventually led him to question his theological upbringing, causing him to reject election and to accept universal salvation. As a result, the elders of his home church refused him admission as a full member.^[7] In an unadorned church, the 17th century congregation stands to hear the sermon. ... Conversion to Christianity is the religious conversion of a previously non-Christian person to some form of Christianity. ... The Calvinist doctrine of predestination, is the religious doctrine of double predestination, particular to Calvinism. ... Origen, a 3rd century proponent of universal reconciliation In Christian theology, universal reconciliation or universal salvation, is the doctrine or belief that all will eventually find salvation and reconciliation with God. ...

Priestley's illness left him with a permanent stutter and he gave up any thoughts of entering the ministry at that time. In preparation for joining a relative in trade in Lisbon, he studied French, Italian, and German in addition to Chaldean, Syrian, and Arabic. He was tutored by the Reverend George Haggerstone, who first introduced him to higher mathematics, natural philosophy, logic, and metaphysics through the works of Isaac Watts, Willem 's Gravesande, and John Locke.^[8] For other uses, see Lisbon (disambiguation). ... Chaldean Neo-Aramaic is a modern Eastern Aramaic or Syriac language. ... For the current in the 19th century German idealism, see Naturphilosophie Natural philosophy or the philosophy of nature, known in Latin as philosophia naturalis, is a term applied to the objective study of nature and the physical universe that was dominant before the development of modern science. ... Plato (left) and Aristotle (right), by Raphael (Stanza della Segnatura, Rome) Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy investigating principles of reality transcending those of any particular science. ... Isaac Watts (July 17, 1674 â€“ November 25, 1748) is recognised as the Father of English Hymnody, as he was the first prolific and popular English hymnwriter, credited with some 750 hymns. ... Willem s Gravesande (1688-1742) was a Dutch scientist and lawyer. ... For other persons named John Locke, see John Locke (disambiguation). ...

Daventry Academy

Priestley eventually decided to return to his theological studies and, in 1752, matriculated at Daventry, a Dissenting academy.^[9] Because he had already read widely, Priestley was allowed to skip the first two years of coursework. He continued his intense study; this, together with the liberal atmosphere of the school, shifted his theology further leftward and he became a Rational Dissenter. Abhorring dogma and religious mysticism, Rational Dissenters emphasized the rational analysis of the natural world and the Bible.^[10] English Dissenters were dissenters from England who opposed State interference in religious matters and founded their own communities over the 16th to 18th century period. ...

Priestley later wrote that the book that influenced him the most, save the Bible, was David Hartley's Observations on Man (1749). Hartley's psychological, philosophical, and theological treatise postulated a material theory of mind. Hartley aimed to construct a Christian philosophy in which both religious and moral "facts" could be scientifically proven, a goal that would occupy Priestley for his entire life. In his third year at Daventry, Priestley committed himself to the ministry, which he described as "the noblest of all professions".^[11] For other persons of the same name, see David Hartley. ... Title page from the first edition of the Observations Observations on Man, his Frame, his Duty, and his Expectations is eighteenth-century British philosopher David Hartleys major work. ... A phrenological mapping of the brain. ...

Needham Market and Nantwich (1755–61)

Robert Schofield, Priestley's major modern biographer, describes his first "call" in 1755 to the Dissenting parish in Needham Market, Suffolk, as a "mistake" for both Priestley and the congregation.^[12] Priestley yearned for urban life and theological debate, whereas Needham Market was a small, rural town with a congregation wedded to tradition. Attendance and donations dropped sharply when they discovered the extent of his heterodoxy. Although Priestley's aunt had promised her support if he became a minister, she refused any further assistance when she realized he was no longer a Calvinist. To earn extra money, Priestley proposed opening a school, but local families informed him that they would refuse to send their children. He also presented a series of scientific lectures titled "Use of the Globes" that was more successful.^[13] Image File history File links Size of this preview: 319 Ã— 599 pixelsFull resolution (352 Ã— 661 pixel, file size: 12 KB, MIME type: image/png) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 319 Ã— 599 pixelsFull resolution (352 Ã— 661 pixel, file size: 12 KB, MIME type: image/png) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Title page from the first edition of Joseph Priestleys Rudiments of English Grammar (1761) The Rudiments of English Grammar (1761) was a popular English grammar textbook written the eighteenth-century British polymath Joseph Priestley. ... Priestley by Ellen Sharples (1794)[1] Joseph Priestley (March 24 [O.S. March 13] 1733 â€“ February 8, 1804) was a British natural philosopher, Dissenting clergyman, political theorist, and theologian. ... Needham Market is a town in Suffolk, England. ... Suffolk (pronounced ) is a large historic and modern non-metropolitan county in East Anglia, England. ... Heterodoxy includes any opinions or doctrines at variance with an official or orthodox position.[1] As an adjective, heterodox is used to describe a subject as characterized by departure from accepted beliefs or standards (status quo). ... In an unadorned church, the 17th century congregation stands to hear the sermon. ...

Priestley's Daventry friends helped him obtain another position and in 1758 he moved to Nantwich, Cheshire; his time there was happier. The congregation cared less about Priestley's heterodoxy and he successfully established a school. Unlike many schoolmasters of the time, Priestley taught his students natural philosophy and even bought scientific instruments for them. Appalled at the quality of the available English grammar books, Priestley wrote his own: The Rudiments of English Grammar (1761).^[14] His innovations in the description of English grammar, particularly his efforts to disassociate it from Latin grammar, led 20th-century scholars to describe him as "one of the great grammarians of his time".^[15] After the publication of Rudiments and the success of Priestley's school, Warrington Academy offered him a teaching position in 1761.^[16] Nantwich is a market town in south Cheshire, England, in the Borough and parliamentary constituency of Crewe and Nantwich. ... For other uses, see Cheshire (disambiguation). ... For the current in the 19th century German idealism, see Naturphilosophie Natural philosophy or the philosophy of nature, known in Latin as philosophia naturalis, is a term applied to the objective study of nature and the physical universe that was dominant before the development of modern science. ... Title page from the first edition of Joseph Priestleys Rudiments of English Grammar (1761) The Rudiments of English Grammar (1761) was a popular English grammar textbook written the eighteenth-century British polymath Joseph Priestley. ... For the rules of the English language, see English grammar. ... Warrington Academy 1756-1786, was an early dissenters college in Warrington, Cheshire. ...

Warrington Academy (1761–67)

In 1761, Priestley moved to Warrington and assumed the post of tutor of modern languages and rhetoric at the town's Dissenting academy, although he would have preferred to teach mathematics and natural philosophy. He fit in well at Warrington and made friends quickly. On 23 June 1762, he married Mary Wilkinson of Wrexham. Of his marriage, Priestley wrote: Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... An ironmaster is the manager â€“ and usually owner â€“ of a forge or blast furnace for the processing of iron. ... Isaac Wilkinson (baptised 6 May 1695 - 31 January 1784) was an English industrialist, one of the founders of the iron industry and pioneer of the Industrial Revolution. ... John Iron-Mad Wilkinson (1728 – 1808) was a British industrialist who suggested the use of iron for many roles where other materials had previously been used. ... This article is about the Borough in the north-west of England. ... Warrington Academy 1756-1786, was an early dissenters college in Warrington, Cheshire. ... is the 174th day of the year (175th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1762 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... This article is about Wrexham the settlement. ...

On 17 April 1763, they had a daughter, whom they named Sarah after Priestley's aunt.^[19] is the 107th day of the year (108th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1763 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...

Educator and historian

All of the books Priestley published while at Warrington emphasized the study of history; Priestley considered it essential for worldly success as well as religious growth. He wrote histories of science and Christianity in an effort to reveal the progress of humanity and, paradoxically, the loss of a pure, "primitive Christianity".^[20] Priestley by Ellen Sharples (1794)[1] Joseph Priestley (March 24 [O.S. March 13] 1733 â€“ February 8, 1804) was a British natural philosopher, Dissenting clergyman, political theorist, and theologian. ...

In his Essay on a Course of Liberal Education for Civil and Active Life (1765),^[22] Lectures on History and General Policy (1788), and other works, Priestley argued that the education of the young should anticipate their future practical needs. This principle of utility guided his unconventional curricular choices for Warrington's aspiring middle-class students. He recommended modern languages instead of classical languages and modern rather than ancient history. Priestley's lectures on history were particularly revolutionary; he narrated a providentialist and naturalist account of history, arguing that the study of history furthered the comprehension of God's natural laws. Furthermore, his millennial perspective was closely tied to his optimism regarding scientific progress and the improvement of humanity. He believed that each age would improve upon the previous and that the study of history allowed people to perceive and to advance this progress. Since the study of history was a moral imperative for Priestley, he also promoted the education of middle-class women, which was unusual at the time.^[23] Some scholars of education have described Priestley as the most important English writer on education between the 17th-century John Locke and the 19th-century Herbert Spencer.^[24] Lectures on History was well-received and was employed by many educational institutions, such as New College at Hackney, Brown, Princeton, Yale, and Cambridge.^[25] Priestley designed two Charts to serve as visual study aides for his Lectures.^[26] Both were popular for decades, and the trustees of Warrington were so impressed with Priestley's lectures and charts that they arranged for the University of Edinburgh to grant him a Doctor of Law degree in 1764.^[27] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... A redacted version of Priestleys Chart of Biography (1765) In 1765, eighteenth-century British polymath Joseph Priestley published A Chart of Biography and its accompanying prose description as a supplement to his Lectures on History and General Policy. ... Title page from Joseph Priestleys Essay on Education Essay on a Course of Liberal Education for Civil and Active Life (1765) is an educational treatise by the eighteenth-century British polymath Joseph Priestley. ... Title page from Joseph Priestleys Lectures Lectures on History and General Policy (1788) is the published version of a set of lectures on history and government given by the eighteenth-century British polymath Joseph Priestley to the students of Warrington Academy. ... A belief that Gods will is evident in all things, both great and small. ... Millennialism (or chiliasm), from millennium, which literally means thousand years, is primarily a belief expressed in some Christian denominations, and literature, that there will be a Golden Age or Paradise on Earth where Christ will reign prior to the final judgment and future eternal state, primarily derived from the book... For other persons named John Locke, see John Locke (disambiguation). ... For other persons named Herbert Spencer, see Herbert Spencer (disambiguation). ... Brown University is a private university located in Providence, Rhode Island. ... Princeton University is a private coeducational research university located in Princeton, New Jersey. ... Yale redirects here. ... The University of Cambridge (often Cambridge University), located in Cambridge, England, is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world and has a reputation as one of the most prestigious universities in the world. ... The University of Edinburgh (Scottish Gaelic: ), founded in 1582,[4] is a renowned centre for teaching and research in Edinburgh, Scotland. ... Doctor of Laws (Latin: Legum Doctor, LL.D) is a doctorate-level academic degree in law. ...

History of Electricity

The intellectually stimulating atmosphere of Warrington, often called the "Athens of the North" during the 18th century, encouraged Priestley's growing interest in natural philosophy. He gave lectures on anatomy and performed experiments regarding temperature with another tutor at Warrington, his friend John Seddon.^[29] Despite Priestley's busy teaching schedule, he decided to write a history of electricity. Friends introduced him to the major experimenters in the field in Britain—John Canton, William Watson, and the visiting Benjamin Franklin—who encouraged Priestley to perform the experiments he wanted to include in his history. In the process of replicating others' experiments, Priestley became intrigued by unanswered questions and was prompted to undertake experiments of his own design.^[30] (Impressed with his Charts and the manuscript of his history of electricity, Canton, Franklin, Watson, and Richard Price nominated Priestley for a fellowship in the Royal Society; he was accepted in 1766.)^[31] Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 465 Ã— 599 pixelsFull resolution (1287 Ã— 1658 pixel, file size: 507 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 465 Ã— 599 pixelsFull resolution (1287 Ã— 1658 pixel, file size: 507 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Electricity (from New Latin Ä“lectricus, amberlike) is a general term for a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. ... John Canton (July 31, 1718 - March 22, 1772) was an English physicist. ... William Watson (3 April 1715 â€“ 10 May 1787) was an English physician and scientist who was born and died in London. ... This article is about the American political figure. ... Richard Price (February 23, 1723 â€“ April 19, 1791), was a Welsh moral and political philosopher. ... For other uses, see Royal Society (disambiguation). ...

In 1767, the 700-page The History and Present State of Electricity was published to positive reviews.^[32] The first half of the text is a history of the study of electricity to 1766; the second and more influential half is a description of contemporary theories about electricity and suggestions for future research. Priestley reported some of his own discoveries in the second section, such as the conductivity of charcoal and other substances and the continuum between conductors and non-conductors.^[33] This discovery overturned what he described as "one of the earliest and universally received maxims of electricity", that only water and metals could conduct electricity. This and other experiments on the electrical properties of materials and on the electrical effects of chemical transformations demonstrated Priestley's early and ongoing interest in the relationship between chemical substances and electricity.^[34] Based on experiments with charged spheres, Priestley was also the first to propose that electrical force followed an inverse-square law, similar to Newton's law of universal gravitation. However, he did not generalize or elaborate on this,^[33] and the general law was enunciated by French physicist Charles Augustin de Coulomb in the 1780s. Joseph Priestleys electrical machine, illustrated in the first edition of his Familiar Introduction to Electricity (1768) The History and Present State of Electricity (1767), by eighteenth-century British polymath Joseph Priestley, is a survey of the study of electricity up until 1766 as well as a description of experiments... Not to be confused with electrical conductance, a measure of an objects or circuits ability to conduct an electric current between two points, which is dependent on the electrical conductivity and the geometric dimensions of the conducting object. ... Charcoal is the blackish residue consisting of impure carbon obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. ... This diagram shows how the law works. ... Isaac Newtons theory of universal gravitation (part of classical mechanics) states the following: Every single point mass attracts every other point mass by a force pointing along the line combining the two. ... This box: Coulombs torsion balance Coulombs law, developed in the 1780s by French physicist Charles Augustin de Coulomb, may be stated in scalar form as follows: The magnitude of the electrostatic force between two point electric charges is directly proportional to the product of the magnitudes of each... Portrait of Coulomb Charles Augustin Coulomb (June 14, 1736—August 23, 1806) was a French physicist. ...

Priestley's strength as a natural philosopher was qualitative rather than quantitative and his observation of "a current of real air" between two electrified points would later interest Michael Faraday and James Clerk Maxwell as they investigated electromagnetism. Priestley's text became the standard history of electricity for over a century; Alessandro Volta (who later invented the battery), William Herschel (who discovered infrared radiation), and Henry Cavendish (who discovered hydrogen) all relied upon it. Priestley wrote a popular version of the History of Electricity for the general public titled A Familiar Introduction to the Study of Electricity (1768).^[35] Michael Faraday, FRS (September 22, 1791 â€“ August 25, 1867) was an English chemist and physicist (or natural philosopher, in the terminology of that time) who contributed to the fields of electromagnetism and electrochemistry. ... James Clerk Maxwell (13 June 1831 â€“ 5 November 1879) was a Scottish mathematician and theoretical physicist. ... This box: Electromagnetism is the physics of the electromagnetic field: a field which exerts a force on particles that possess the property of electric charge, and is in turn affected by the presence and motion of those particles. ... For the concept car, see Toyota Alessandro Volta. ... For other persons named William Herschel, see William Herschel (disambiguation). ... Image of a small dog taken in mid-infrared (thermal) light (false color) Infrared (IR) radiation is electromagnetic radiation of a wavelength longer than visible light, but shorter than microwave radiation. ... For other persons named Henry Cavendish, see Henry Cavendish (disambiguation). ... This article is about the chemistry of hydrogen. ...

Leeds (1767–73)

Perhaps prompted by Mary Priestley's ill health, or financial problems, or a desire to prove himself to the community that had rejected him in his childhood, Priestley moved with his family from Warrington to Leeds in 1767, and he became Mill Hill Chapel's minister. Two sons were born to the Priestleys in Leeds: Joseph junior on 24 July 1768 and William three years later. Theophilus Lindsey, a rector at Catterick, Yorkshire, became one of Priestley's few friends in Leeds, of whom he wrote: "I never chose to publish any thing of moment relating to theology, without consulting him."^[37] Although Priestley had extended family living around Leeds, it does not appear that they communicated. Schofield conjectures that they considered him a heretic.^[38] Each year Priestley travelled to London to consult with his close friend and publisher, Joseph Johnson, and to attend meetings of the Royal Society.^[39] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... For other uses, see Leeds (disambiguation) and Leeds City (disambiguation). ... is the 205th day of the year (206th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1768 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Theophilus Lindsey (20 June 1723 O.S. â€“ 1808) was an English theologian born in Middlewich, Cheshire, and was educated at the Leeds Free School and at St Johns College, University of Cambridge, where in 1747 he became a fellow. ... The word rector (ruler, from the Latin regere) has a number of different meanings, but all of them indicate someone who is in charge of something. ... Map sources for Catterick, North Yorkshire at grid reference SE2497 The village dates back to Roman times, when Cataractonium was a Roman fort protecting the crossing of the Great North Road over the River Swale. ... For other uses, see Heresy (disambiguation). ... Only known portrait of Joseph Johnson by William Sharp (after Moses Haughton)[1] Joseph Johnson (15 November 1738 â€“ 20 December 1809) was an influential eighteenth-century London bookseller, often called the father of the book trade in England. ... For other uses, see Royal Society (disambiguation). ...

Minister of Mill Hill Chapel

When Priestley became its minister, Mill Hill Chapel was one of the oldest and most respected Dissenting congregations in England; however, during the early 18th century the congregation had fractured along doctrinal lines, and was losing members to the charismatic Methodist movement.^[40] Priestley believed that by educating the young, he could strengthen the bonds of the congregation.^[41] Priestley by Ellen Sharples (1794)[1] Joseph Priestley (March 24 [O.S. March 13] 1733 â€“ February 8, 1804) was a British natural philosopher, Dissenting clergyman, political theorist, and theologian. ... Priestley by Ellen Sharples (1794)[1] Joseph Priestley (March 13, 1733 (old style) â€“ February 8, 1804) was a British natural philosopher, political theorist, clergyman, theologian, and educator. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 379 Ã— 599 pixelsFull resolution (438 Ã— 692 pixel, file size: 23 KB, MIME type: image/png) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 379 Ã— 599 pixelsFull resolution (438 Ã— 692 pixel, file size: 23 KB, MIME type: image/png) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Title page from the second edition of Joseph Priestleys Institutes of Natural and Revealed Revealed Religion The Institutes of Natural and Revealed Religion, written by eighteenth-century British Dissenting minister and polymath Joseph Priestley, is a three-volume work designed for religious education published by Joseph Johnson between 1772... For other uses, see Methodism (disambiguation). ...

In his magisterial three-volume Institutes of Natural and Revealed Religion (1772–74),^[42] Priestley outlined his theories of religious instruction. More importantly, he laid out his belief in Socinianism. The doctrines he explicated would become the standards for Unitarians in Britain. This work marked a change in Priestley's theological thinking that is critical to understanding his later writings—it paved the way for his materialism and necessitarianism (the belief that a divine being acts in accordance with necessary metaphysical laws).^[43] Title page from the second edition of Joseph Priestleys Institutes of Natural and Revealed Revealed Religion The Institutes of Natural and Revealed Religion, written by eighteenth-century British Dissenting minister and polymath Joseph Priestley, is a three-volume work designed for religious education published by Joseph Johnson between 1772... Socinianism is a form of Antitrinitarianism, named for Laelius Socinus (died 1562 in ZÃ¼rich) and of his nephew Faustus Socinus (died 1604 in Poland). ... Historic Unitarianism believed in the oneness of God as opposed to traditional Christian belief in the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). ... In philosophy, materialism is that form of physicalism which holds that the only thing that can truly be said to exist is matter; that fundamentally, all things are composed of material and all phenomena are the result of material interactions; that matter is the only substance. ... Necessitarianism (Principle in metaphysics) â€” Necessitarianism is determinism applied to human beings: the doctrine that human beings do not have free will but are determined in their actions by antecedent, external causes. ...

Priestley's major argument in the Institutes was that the only revealed religious truths that could be accepted were those that matched one's experience of the natural world. Because his views of religion were deeply tied to his understanding of nature, the text's theism rested on the argument from design.^[44] The Institutes shocked and appalled many readers, primarily because it challenged basic Christian orthodoxies, such as the divinity of Christ and the miracle of the Virgin Birth. Methodists in Leeds penned a hymn asking God to "the Unitarian fiend expel / And chase his doctrine back to Hell."^[45] Priestley wanted to return Christianity to its "primitive" or "pure" form by eliminating the "corruptions" which had accumulated over the centuries. The fourth part of the Institutes, An History of the Corruptions of Christianity, became so long that he was forced to issue it separately in 1782. Priestley believed that the Corruptions was "the most valuable" work he ever published. In demanding that his readers apply the logic of the emerging sciences and comparative history to the Bible and Christianity, he alienated religious and scientific readers alike—scientific readers did not appreciate seeing science used in the defence of religion and religious readers dismissed the application of science to religion.^[46] Theism is the belief in the existence of one or more divinities or deities. ... A teleological argument (or an argument from design) is an argument for the existence of God based on evidence of design in nature. ... Icon of Christ in a Greek Orthodox church This page is about the title, office or what is known in Christian theology as the Divine Person. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... Joseph Priestley by Henry Fuseli, commissioned by Priestleys friend and publisher, Joseph Johnson An History of the Corruptions of Christianity, published by Joseph Johnson in 1782, was the fourth part of eighteenth-century Dissenting minister Joseph Priestleys Institutes of Natural and Revealed Religion (1772-74). ...

Religious controversialist

Priestley engaged in numerous political and religious pamphlet wars. According to Schofield, "he entered each controversy with a cheerful conviction that he was right, while most of his opponents were convinced, from the outset, that he was willfully and maliciously wrong. He was able, then, to contrast his sweet reasonableness to their personal rancor."^[47] However, as Schofield points out, Priestley rarely altered his opinion as a result of these debates.^[47] While at Leeds, he wrote controversial pamphlets on the Lord's Supper and on Calvinist doctrine; thousands of copies were published, making them some of Priestley's most widely-read works.^[48] Polish soldiers reading a German leaflet during the Warsaw Uprising A pamphlet is an unbound booklet (that is, without a hard cover or binding). ... For other uses, see Eucharist (disambiguation). ... In an unadorned church, the 17th century congregation stands to hear the sermon. ...

Priestley founded the Theological Repository in 1768, a journal committed to the open and rational inquiry of theological questions. Although he promised to print any contribution, only like-minded authors submitted articles. He was therefore obliged to provide much of the journal's content himself (this material became the basis for many of his later theological and metaphysical works). After only a few years, due to a lack of funds, he was forced to cease publishing the journal.^[49] He revived it in 1784 with similar results.^[50] Engraving by Charles A. E. Turner (1836) of a Priestley portrait commissioned by Joseph Johnson from Henry Fuseli (c. ...

Defender of Dissenters and political philosopher

Many of Priestley's political writings supported the repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts, which restricted the rights of Dissenters. They could not hold political office, serve in the armed forces, or attend Oxford and Cambridge unless they subscribed to the Thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England. Dissenters repeatedly petitioned Parliament to repeal the Acts, arguing that they were being treated as second-class citizens.^[52] Image File history File links Size of this preview: 303 Ã— 599 pixelsFull resolution (345 Ã— 682 pixel, file size: 42 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 303 Ã— 599 pixelsFull resolution (345 Ã— 682 pixel, file size: 42 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Title page to Joseph Priestleys Essay Essay on the First Principles of Government (1768) is an early work of modern liberal political theory by eighteenth-century British polymath Joseph Priestley. ... Jeremy Bentham (IPA: ) (26 February [O.S. 15 February 15] 1748) â€“ June 6, 1832) was an English jurist, philosopher, and legal and social reformer. ... Priestley by Ellen Sharples (1794)[1] Joseph Priestley (March 13, 1733 (old style) â€“ February 8, 1804) was a British natural philosopher, political theorist, clergyman, theologian, and educator. ... The several Test Acts were a series of English penal laws that imposed various civil disabilities on Roman Catholics and Nonconformists. ... The Corporation Act of 1661 belongs to the general category of test acts, designed for the express purpose of restricting public offices in England to members of the Church of England. ... The Thirty-Nine Articles are the defining statements of Anglican doctrine. ... The Church of England is the officially established Christian church[3] in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the oldest among the communions thirty-eight independent national churches. ...

Priestley's friends, particularly other Rational Dissenters, urged him to publish a work on the injustices experienced by Dissenters; the result was his Essay on the First Principles of Government (1768).^[53] An early work of modern liberal political theory and Priestley's most thorough treatment of the subject, it—unusually for the time—distinguished political rights from civil rights with precision and argued for expansive civil rights. Priestley identified separate private and public spheres, contending that the government should only have control over the public sphere. Education and religion, in particular, he maintained, were matters of private conscience and should not be administered by the state. Priestley's later radicalism emerged from his belief that the British government was infringing upon these individual freedoms.^[54] Title page to Joseph Priestleys Essay Essay on the First Principles of Government (1768) is an early work of modern liberal political theory by eighteenth-century British polymath Joseph Priestley. ... Liberalism is an ideology, philosophical view, and political tradition which holds that liberty is the primary political value. ...

Priestley also defended the rights of Dissenters against the attacks of William Blackstone, an eminent legal theorist, whose Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765–69) had become the standard legal guide. Blackstone's book stated that dissent from the Church of England was a crime and that Dissenters could not be loyal subjects. Furious, Priestley lashed out with his Remarks on Dr. Blackstone's Commentaries (1769), correcting Blackstone's interpretation of the law, his grammar (a highly politicized subject at the time), and history.^[55] Blackstone, chastened, altered subsequent editions of his Commentaries: he rephrased the offending passages and removed the sections claiming that Dissenters could not be loyal subjects, but he retained his description of Dissent as a crime.^[56] William Blackstone as illustrated in his Commentaries on the Laws of England. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Natural philosopher: electricity, Optics, and soda water

Although Priestley claimed that natural philosophy was only a hobby, he took it seriously. In his History of Electricity, he described the scientist as promoting the "security and happiness of mankind".^[57] Priestley's science was eminently practical and he rarely concerned himself with theoretical questions; his model was Benjamin Franklin. When he moved to Leeds, Priestley continued his electrical and chemical experiments (the latter aided by a steady supply of carbon dioxide from a neighbouring brewery). Between 1767 and 1770, he presented five papers to the Royal Society from these initial experiments; the first four papers explored coronal discharges and other phenomena related to electrical discharge, while the fifth reported on the conductivity of charcoals from different sources. His subsequent experimental work focused on chemistry and pneumatics.^[58] For the current in the 19th century German idealism, see Naturphilosophie Natural philosophy or the philosophy of nature, known in Latin as philosophia naturalis, is a term applied to the objective study of nature and the physical universe that was dominant before the development of modern science. ... This article is about the American political figure. ... Kettles in a modern Trappist brewery A brewery can be a building or place that produces beer, or a business (brewing company) whose trade is the production and sale of beer. ... For other uses, see Royal Society (disambiguation). ... In electricity, a corona discharge is an electrical discharge brought on by the ionization of a fluid surrounding a conductor, which occurs when the potential gradient (the strength of the electric field) exceeds a certain value, but conditions are insufficient to cause complete electrical breakdown or arcing. ... An electrostatic discharge (ESD) is a sudden flow of electric current through a material that is normally an insulator. ... Pneumatics, a subsection of an area called fluid power, is the use of pressurized air to effect mechanical motion. ...

Priestley published the first volume of his projected history of experimental philosophy, The History and Present State of Discoveries Relating to Vision, Light and Colours (referred to as his Optics), in 1772.^[59] He paid careful attention to the history of optics and presented excellent explanations of early optics experiments, but his mathematical deficiencies caused him to dismiss several important contemporary theories. Furthermore, he did not include any of the practical sections that had made his History of Electricity so useful to practising natural philosophers. Unlike his History of Electricity, it was not popular and had only one edition, although it was the only English book on the topic for 150 years. The hastily written text sold poorly; the cost of researching, writing, and publishing the Optics convinced Priestley to abandon his history of experimental philosophy.^[60]

Priestley was considered for the position of astronomer on James Cook's second voyage to the South Seas, but was not chosen. Still, he contributed in a small way to the voyage: he provided the crew with a method for making soda water, which he erroneously speculated might be a cure for scurvy. He then published a pamphlet with Directions for Impregnating Water with Fixed Air (1772).^[61] Priestley did not exploit the commercial potential of soda water, but others such as J. J. Schweppe made fortunes from it.^[62] In 1773, the Royal Society recognized Priestley's achievements in natural philosophy by awarding him the Copley Medal.^[63] This article is about the British explorer. ... This article is about the British explorer. ... Effervescence from soda. ... Scurvy (N.Lat. ... Cadbury Schweppes plc (Cadbury Trebor Bassett), (NYSE: CSG) is a confectionery and beverage company with its headquarters in London. ... The Copley Medal is a scientific award for distinguished achievement in any field of science and it is the highest award granted by the Royal Society of London. ...

Priestley's friends wanted to find him a more financially secure position. In 1772, prompted by Richard Price and Benjamin Franklin, Lord Shelburne wrote to Priestley asking him to direct the education of his children and to act as his general assistant. Although Priestley was reluctant to sacrifice his ministry, he accepted the position, resigning from Mill Hill Chapel on 20 December 1772, and preaching his last sermon on 16 May 1773.^[64] Richard Price (February 23, 1723 â€“ April 19, 1791), was a Welsh moral and political philosopher. ... William Petty Fitzmaurice, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne (2 May 1737–7 May 1805), also known as the Earl of Shelburne (1761–1784), was a British statesman. ... is the 354th day of the year (355th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1772 (MDCCLXXII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Sunday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ... is the 136th day of the year (137th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1773 (MDCCLXXIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ...

Calne (1773–80)

In 1773, the Priestleys moved to Calne and a year later Lord Shelburne and Priestley took a tour of Europe. According to Priestley's close friend Theophilus Lindsey, Priestley was "much improved by this view of mankind at large".^[66] Upon their return, Priestley easily fulfilled his duties as librarian and tutor. The workload was intentionally light, allowing him time to pursue his scientific investigations and theological interests. Priestley also became a political adviser to Shelburne, gathering information on parliamentary issues and serving as a liaison between Shelburne and the Dissenting and American interests. When the Priestleys' third son was born on 24 May 1777, they named him Henry at the lord's request.^[67] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Only known portrait of Joseph Johnson by William Sharp (after Moses Haughton)[1] Joseph Johnson (15 November 1738 â€“ 20 December 1809) was an influential eighteenth-century London bookseller, often called the father of the book trade in England. ... Fuseli talking to Johann Jakob Bodmer, 1778-1781. ... , Calne is a town located in central Wiltshire, in the South West England region of the United Kingdom. ... William Petty Fitzmaurice, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne (2 May 1737–7 May 1805), also known as the Earl of Shelburne (1761–1784), was a British statesman. ... Theophilus Lindsey (20 June 1723 O.S. â€“ 1808) was an English theologian born in Middlewich, Cheshire, and was educated at the Leeds Free School and at St Johns College, University of Cambridge, where in 1747 he became a fellow. ... is the 144th day of the year (145th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1777 (MDCCLXXVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ...

Materialist philosopher

Priestley wrote his most important philosophical works during his years with Lord Shelburne. In a series of major metaphysical texts published between 1774 and 1780—An Examination of Dr. Reid's Inquiry into the Human Mind (1774), Hartley's Theory of the Human Mind on the Principle of the Association of Ideas (1775), Disquisitions relating to Matter and Spirit (1777), The Doctrine of Philosophical Necessity Illustrated (1777), and Letters to a Philosophical Unbeliever (1780)—he argues for a philosophy that incorporates four concepts: determinism, materialism, causation, and necessitarianism. By studying the natural world, he argued, people would learn how to become more compassionate, happy, and prosperous.^[69] Priestley by Ellen Sharples (1794)[1] Joseph Priestley (March 13, 1733 (old style) â€“ February 8, 1804) was a British natural philosopher, political theorist, clergyman, theologian, and educator. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Title page from the first edition of Disquisitions relating to Matter and Spirit (1777) Disquisitions relating to Matter and Spirit (1777) is a major work of metaphysics written by eighteenth-century British polymath Joseph Priestley and published by Joseph Johnson. ... For information about the band, see Atheist (band). ... Plato (left) and Aristotle (right), by Raphael (Stanza della Segnatura, Rome) Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy investigating principles of reality transcending those of any particular science. ... Title page from the first edition of Disquisitions relating to Matter and Spirit (1777) Disquisitions relating to Matter and Spirit (1777) is a major work of metaphysics written by eighteenth-century British polymath Joseph Priestley and published by Joseph Johnson. ... Title page from Joseph Priestleys Philosophical Necessity The Doctrine of Philosophical Necessity (1777) is one of the major metaphysical works of eighteenth-century British polymath Joseph Priestley. ... Title page from Joseph Priestleys Letters Letters to a Philosophical Unbeliever (1780) is a multi-volume series of books on metaphysics by eighteenth-century British polymath Joseph Priestley. ... This article is about the general notion of determinism in philosophy. ... In philosophy, materialism is that form of physicalism which holds that the only thing that can truly be said to exist is matter; that fundamentally, all things are composed of material and all phenomena are the result of material interactions; that matter is the only substance. ... Causality or causation denotes the relationship between one event (called cause) and another event (called effect) which is the consequence (result) of the first. ... Necessitarianism (Principle in metaphysics) â€” Necessitarianism is determinism applied to human beings: the doctrine that human beings do not have free will but are determined in their actions by antecedent, external causes. ...

Priestley strongly suggested that there is no mind-body duality, and put forth a materialist philosophy in these works; that is, one founded on the principle that everything in the universe is made of matter that we can perceive. He also contended that discussing the soul is impossible because it is made of a divine substance, and humanity cannot perceive the divine. Despite his separation of the divine from the mortal, this position shocked and angered many of his readers, who believed that such a duality was necessary for the soul to exist.^[70] RenÃ© Descartes illustration of dualism. ... For other uses, see Soul (disambiguation). ...

Responding to Baron d'Holbach's Système de la Nature (1770) and David Hume's Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion (1779) as well as the works of the French philosophes, Priestley maintained that materialism and determinism could be reconciled with a belief in God. He criticized those whose faith was shaped by books and fashion, drawing an analogy between the scepticism of educated men and the credulity of the masses.^[71] Baron dHolbach Paul-Henri Thiry, baron dHolbach (1723 â€“ 1789) was a German-French author, philosopher and encyclopedist. ... The System of Nature is a philosophical book by Baron dHolbach (Paul Henri Thiry, 1723-1789). ... For other persons named David Hume, see David Hume (disambiguation). ... Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion was written by skeptical philosopher David Hume. ... The philosophes (French for philosophers) were a group of intellectuals of the 18th century Enlightenment. ...

Maintaining that humans had no free will, Priestley argued that what he called "philosophical necessity" (akin to absolute determinism) is consonant with Christianity, a position based on his understanding of the natural world. Like the rest of nature, man's mind is subject to the laws of causation, Priestley contended, but because a benevolent God created these laws, the world and the people in it will eventually be perfected. Evil is therefore only an imperfect understanding of the world.^[72] Free-Will is a Japanese independent record label founded in 1986. ... This article is about the general notion of determinism in philosophy. ...

Although Priestley's philosophical work has been characterised as "audacious and original",^[4]^[73] it partakes of older philosophical traditions on the problems of free will, determinism, and materialism.^[74] For example, the 17th-century philosopher Baruch Spinoza argued for absolute determinism and absolute materialism.^[75] Like Spinoza^[76] and Priestley,^[77] Leibniz argued that human will was completely determined by natural laws;^[78] however, unlike them, Leibniz argued for a "parallel universe" of immaterial objects (such as human souls) so arranged by God that its outcomes agree exactly with those of the material universe.^[79] Leibniz^[80] and Priestley^[81] share an optimism that God has chosen the chain of events benevolently; however, Priestley believed that the events were leading to a glorious Millennial conclusion,^[4] whereas for Leibniz the entire chain of events was optimal in and of itself, as compared with other conceivable chains of events.^[82] Free-Will is a Japanese independent record label founded in 1986. ... This article is about the general notion of determinism in philosophy. ... In philosophy, materialism is that form of physicalism which holds that the only thing that can truly be said to exist is matter; that fundamentally, all things are composed of material and all phenomena are the result of material interactions; that matter is the only substance. ... Baruch or Benedict de Spinoza (â€Ž, Portuguese: , Latin: ) (November 24, 1632 â€“ February 21, 1677) was a Dutch philosopher of Portuguese Jewish origin. ... Millennialism (or chiliasm), from millennium, which literally means thousand years, is primarily a belief expressed in some Christian denominations, and literature, that there will be a Golden Age or Paradise on Earth where Christ will reign prior to the final judgment and future eternal state, primarily derived from the book...

Founder of Unitarianism

When Priestley's friend Theophilus Lindsey, decided to found a new Christian denomination that would not restrict its members' beliefs, Priestley and others hurried to his aid. On 17 April 1774, Lindsey held the first Unitarian service in Britain; he had even designed his own liturgy, of which many were critical. Priestley defended his friend in the pamphlet Letter to a Layman, on the Subject of the Rev. Mr. Lindsey's Proposal for a Reformed English Church (1774),^[83] claiming that only the form of worship had been altered, not its substance, and attacking those who followed religion as a fashion. Priestley attended Lindsey's church regularly in the 1770s and occasionally preached there.^[84] He continued to support institutionalized Unitarianism for the rest of his life, writing several Defenses of Unitarianism and encouraging the foundation of new Unitarian chapels throughout Britain and the United States.^[85] Theophilus Lindsey (20 June 1723 O.S. â€“ 1808) was an English theologian born in Middlewich, Cheshire, and was educated at the Leeds Free School and at St Johns College, University of Cambridge, where in 1747 he became a fellow. ... is the 107th day of the year (108th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Chesma Column in Tsarskoe Selo, commemorating the end of the Russo-Turkish War. ... Historic Unitarianism believed in the oneness of God as opposed to traditional Christian belief in the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). ...

Experiments and Observations on Different Kinds of Air

Priestley's years in Calne were the only ones in his life dominated by scientific investigations; they were also the most scientifically fruitful. His experiments were almost entirely confined to "airs", and out of this work emerged his most important scientific texts: the six volumes of Experiments and Observations on Different Kinds of Air (1774–86).^[87]^[88] These experiments helped repudiate the last vestiges of the theory of four elements, which Priestley attempted to replace with his own variation of phlogiston theory. According to that 18th century theory, the combustion or oxidation of a substance corresponded to the release of a material substance, phlogiston.^[89] Stephen Hales (September 17, 1677 - January 4, 1761) was an English physiologist, chemist and inventor. ... Title page from Experiments and Observations Experiments and Observations on Different Kinds of Air (1774â€“86) is a six-volume work published by eighteenth-century British polymath Joseph Priestley which reports a series of his experiments on airs or gases, most notably his discovery of oxygen gas (which he called... Several ancient Classical Element ideas exist. ... Phlogiston theory was a 17th century attempt to explain oxidation processes, such as fire and rust. ... ed|other uses|reduction}} Illustration of a redox reaction Redox (shorthand for reduction/oxidation reaction) describes all chemical reactions in which atoms have their oxidation number (oxidation state) changed. ...

Priestley's work on "airs" is not easily classified. As historian of science Simon Schaffer writes, it "has been seen as a branch of physics, or chemistry, or natural philosophy, or some highly idiosyncratic version of Priestley's own invention".^[90] Furthermore, the volumes were both a scientific and a political enterprise for Priestley, in which he argues that science could destroy "undue and usurped authority" and that government has "reason to tremble even at an air pump or an electrical machine".^[91] Simon Schaffer is a professor of the history and philosophy of science at Cambridge University. ...

Volume I of Experiments and Observations on Different Kinds of Air outlined several discoveries: "nitrous air" (nitric oxide, NO); "vapor of spirit of salt", later called "acid air" or "marine acid air" (anhydrous hydrochloric acid, HCl); "alkaline air" (ammonia, NH₃); "diminished" or "dephlogisticated nitrous air" (nitrous oxide, N₂O); and, most famously, "dephlogisticated air" (oxygen, O₂) as well as experimental findings that would eventually lead to the discovery of photosynthesis. Priestley also developed a "nitrous air test" to determine the "goodness of air". Using a pneumatic trough, he would mix nitrous air with a test sample, over water or mercury, and measure the decrease in volume—the principle of eudiometry.^[86] After a small history of the study of airs, he explained his own experiments in an open and sincere style. As an early biographer writes, "whatever he knows or thinks he tells: doubts, perplexities, blunders are set down with the most refreshing candour."^[92] Priestley also described his cheap and easy-to-assemble experimental apparatus; his colleagues therefore believed that they could easily reproduce his experiments.^[93] Faced with inconsistent experimental results, Priestley employed phlogiston theory. This, however, led him to conclude that there were only three types of "air": "fixed", "alkaline", and "acid". Priestley dismissed the burgeoning chemistry of his day. Instead, he focused on gases and "changes in their sensible properties", as had natural philosophers before him. He isolated carbon monoxide (CO), but apparently did not realize that it was a separate "air".^[94] R-phrases , , , , S-phrases , , , Except where noted otherwise, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 Â°C, 100 kPa) Infobox disclaimer and references Nitric oxide or Nitrogen monoxide is a chemical compound with chemical formula NO. This gas is an important signaling molecule in the body of... â€œHClâ€ redirects here. ... For other uses, see Ammonia (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Nitrous oxide (disambiguation). ... This article is about the chemical element and its most stable form, or dioxygen. ... Photosynthesis splits water to liberate O2 and fixes CO2 into sugar The leaf is the primary site of photosynthesis in plants. ... A eudiometer is a device for measuring the change in volume of a gas mixture following combustion. ... Pliny the Elder: an imaginative 19th Century portrait. ... Carbon monoxide, with the chemical formula CO, is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas. ...

Discovery of oxygen

In August 1774 he isolated an "air" that appeared to be completely new, but he did not have an opportunity to pursue the matter because he was about to tour Europe with Shelburne. While in Paris, however, Priestley managed to replicate the experiment for others, including French chemist Antoine Lavoisier. After returning to Britain in January 1775, he continued his experiments and discovered "vitriolic acid air" (sulfur dioxide, SO₂). Lavoisier redirects here. ... Sulfur dioxide (or Sulphur dioxide) has the chemical formula SO2. ...

In March he wrote to several people regarding the new "air" that he had discovered in August. One of these letters was read aloud to the Royal Society, and a paper outlining the discovery, titled "An Account of further Discoveries in Air", was published in the Society's journal Philosophical Transactions.^[95] Priestley called the new substance "dephlogisticated air" which he made in the famous experiment by focusing the sun's rays on a sample of mercuric oxide. He first tested it on mice, who surprised him by surviving quite a while entrapped with the air, and then on himself, writing that it was "five or six times better than common air for the purpose of respiration, inflammation, and, I believe, every other use of common atmospherical air".^[96] He had discovered oxygen gas (O₂). For other uses, see Royal Society (disambiguation). ... The Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, or , is the oldest scientific journal printed in the English-speaking world, and was only three months shy of being the oldest in the world. ... Mercury(II) oxide, also called mercuric oxide, has a formula of HgO and a formula weight of 216. ... This article is about the chemical element and its most stable form, or dioxygen. ...

Priestley assembled his oxygen paper and several others into a second volume of Experiments and Observations on Air, published in 1776. He did not emphasize his discovery of "dephlogisticated air" (leaving it to Part III of the volume) but instead argued in the preface how important such discoveries were to rational religion. His paper narrated the discovery chronologically, relating the long delays between experiments and his initial puzzlements; thus, it is difficult to determine when exactly Priestley "discovered" oxygen.^[97] Such dating is significant as both Lavoisier and Swedish pharmacist Carl Wilhelm Scheele have strong claims to the discovery of oxygen as well, Scheele having been the first to isolate the gas (although he published after Priestley) and Lavoisier having been the first to describe it as purified "air itself entire without alteration" (that is, the first to explain oxygen without phlogiston theory).^[98] Image File history File links Shelburne. ... Image File history File links Shelburne. ... William Petty Fitzmaurice, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne (2 May 1737–7 May 1805), also known as the Earl of Shelburne (1761–1784), was a British statesman. ... Bowood House from Morriss County Seats (1880). ... Carl Wilhelm Scheele Scheeles house with his pharmacy in KÃ¶ping. ...

In his paper "Observations on Respiration and the Use of the Blood", Priestley was the first to suggest a connection between blood and air, although he did so using phlogiston theory. In typical Priestley fashion, he prefaced the paper with a history of the study of respiration. A year later, clearly influenced by Priestley, Lavoisier was also discussing respiration at the Académie des sciences. Lavoisier's work began the long train of discovery that produced papers on oxygen respiration and culminated in the overthrow of phlogiston theory and the establishment of modern chemistry.^[99] Phlogiston theory was a 17th century attempt to explain oxidation processes, such as fire and rust. ... Louis XIV visiting the AcadÃ©mie in 1671 The French Academy of Sciences (AcadÃ©mie des sciences) is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research. ...

Around 1779 Priestley and Shelburne had a rupture, the precise reasons for which remain unclear. Shelburne blamed Priestley's health, while Priestley claimed Shelburne had no further use for him. Some contemporaries speculated that Priestley's outspokenness had hurt Shelburne's political career. Schofield argues that the most likely reason was Shelburne's recent marriage to Louisa Fitzpatrick—apparently, she did not like the Priestleys. Although Priestley considered moving to America, he eventually accepted Birmingham New Meeting's offer to be their minister.^[100] This article is about the British city. ...

Birmingham (1780–91)

In 1780 the Priestleys moved to Birmingham and spent a happy decade surrounded by old friends, until they were forced to flee in 1791 by religiously motivated mob violence. Priestley accepted the ministerial position at New Meeting on the condition that he be required to preach and teach only on Sundays, so that he would have time for his writing and scientific experiments. As in Leeds, Priestley established classes for the youth of his parish and by 1781, he was teaching 150 students. Because Priestley's New Meeting salary was only 100 guineas, friends and patrons donated money and goods to help continue his investigations.^[101] This article is about the British city. ... The attack on Joseph Priestleys home, Fairhill (lithograph by Charles Joseph Hullmandel) The Priestley Riots (also known as the Birmingham Riots of 1791) took place from 14 July to 17 July 1791 in Birmingham, Kingdom of Great Britain; the rioters main targets were religious Dissenters, most notably the politically...

Chemical Revolution

Many of the friends that Priestley made in Birmingham were members of the Lunar Society, a group of manufacturers, inventors, and natural philosophers who assembled monthly to discuss their work. The core of the group included men such as the manufacturer Matthew Boulton, the chemist and geologist James Keir, the inventor and engineer James Watt, and the botanist, chemist, and geologist William Withering. Priestley was asked to join this unique society and contributed much to the work of its members.^[102] As a result of this stimulating intellectual environment, he published several important scientific papers, including "Experiments relating to Phlogiston, and the seeming Conversion of Water into Air" (1783). The first part attempts to refute Lavoisier's challenges to his work on oxygen; the second part describes how steam is "converted" into air. After several variations of the experiment, with different substances as fuel and several different collecting apparatuses (which produced different results), he concluded that air could travel through more substances than previously surmised, a conclusion "contrary to all the known principles of hydrostatics".^[103] This discovery, along with his earlier work on what would later be recognized as gaseous diffusion, would eventually lead John Dalton and Thomas Graham to formulate the kinetic theory of gases.^[104] The Chemical Revolution (or the first chemical revolution) denotes the reformulation of chemistry based on the Law of Conservation of Matter and the oxygen theory of combustion, and centered on the work of Antoine Lavoisier. ... The Lunar Society was a discussion club of prominent industrialists, natural philosophers and intellectuals who met regularly between 1765 and 1813 in Birmingham, England. ... Matthew Boulton. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... For other persons named James Watt, see James Watt (disambiguation). ... William Withering William Withering (March 17, 1741, Wellington, Shropshire - October 6, 1799) was an English botanist, geologist, chemist, physician and the discoverer of digitalis. ... John Dalton John Dalton (September 6, 1766 â€“ July 27, 1844) was an English chemist and physicist, born at Eaglesfield, near Cockermouth in Cumberland. ... Thomas Graham (December 21, 1805 â€“ September 16, 1869) was born in Glasgow, Scotland. ... The kinetic theory of gases is a theory that explains the macroscopic properties of gases by consideration of their composition at a molecular level. ...

In 1777, Antoine Lavoisier had published Réflexions sur le phlogistique pour servir de suite à la théorie de la combustion et de la calcination, the first of what proved to be a series of attacks on phlogiston theory; it was against these attacks that Priestley responded in 1783. While Priestley accepted parts of Lavoisier's theory, he was unprepared to assent to the major revolutions Lavoisier proposed: the overthrow of phlogiston, a chemistry conceptualized around elements and compounds, and a new chemical nomenclature. Priestley's original experiments on "dephlogisticated air" (oxygen), combustion, and water provided Lavoisier with the data he needed to construct much of his system; yet Priestley never accepted Lavoisier's new theories and continued to defend phlogiston theory for the rest of his life. Lavoisier's system was based largely on the quantitative concept that mass is neither created nor destroyed in chemical reactions (i.e., the conservation of mass). By contrast, Priestley preferred to observe qualitative changes in heat, colour, and particularly volume. His experiments tested "airs" for "their solubility in water, their power of supporting or extinguishing flame, whether they were respirable, how they behaved with acid and alkaline air, and with nitric oxide and inflammable air, and lastly how they were affected by the electric spark."^[105] Download high resolution version (596x800, 154 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (596x800, 154 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Lavoisier redirects here. ... Jacques-Louis David (August 30, 1748 â€“ December 29, 1825) was a highly influential French painter in the Neoclassical style, considered to be the prominent painter of the era. ... Lavoisier redirects here. ... Phlogiston theory was a 17th century attempt to explain oxidation processes, such as fire and rust. ... The periodic table of the chemical elements A chemical element, or element, is a type of atom that is distinguished by its atomic number; that is, by the number of protons in its nucleus. ... A chemical compound is a substance consisting of two or more different elements chemically bonded together in a fixed proportion by mass. ... IUPAC nomenclature is a system of naming chemical compounds and of describing the science of chemistry in general. ... For other uses, see Mass (disambiguation). ... The law of conservation of mass states that the mass of a system of substances will always remain constant, regardless of the processes acting inside the system. ...

By 1789, when Lavoisier published his Traité élémentaire de chimie and founded the Annales de Chimie, the new chemistry had come into its own. Priestley published several more scientific papers in Birmingham, the majority attempting to refute Lavoisier. Priestley and other Lunar Society members argued that the new French system was too expensive, too difficult to test, and unnecessarily complex. Priestley in particular rejected its "establishment" aura. In the end, Lavoisier's view prevailed: his new chemistry introduced many of the principles on which modern chemistry is founded.^[106] For other uses, see Chemistry (disambiguation). ...

Priestley's refusal to accept Lavoisier's "new chemistry" — such as the conservation of mass — and his determination to adhere to a less satisfactory theory has perplexed many scholars.^[107] Schofield explains it thus: "Priestley was never a chemist; in a modern, and even a Lavoisian, sense, he was never a scientist. He was a natural philosopher, concerned with the economy of nature and obsessed with an idea of unity, in theology and in nature."^[108] Historian of science John McEvoy largely agrees, writing that Priestley's view of nature as coextensive with God and thus infinite, which encouraged him to focus on facts over hypotheses and theories, prompted him to reject Lavoisier's system.^[109] McEvoy argues that "Priestley's isolated and lonely opposition to the oxygen theory was a measure of his passionate concern for the principles of intellectual freedom, epistemic equality and critical inquiry."^[110] Priestley himself claimed in the last volume of Experiments and Observations that his most valuable works were his theological ones because they were "superior [in] dignity and importance".^[111] The law of conservation of mass states that the mass of a system of substances will always remain constant, regardless of the processes acting inside the system. ...

Defender of Dissenters and French Revolutionaries

Although Priestley was busy defending phlogiston theory from the "new chemists", most of what he published in Birmingham was theological. In 1782 he published the fourth volume of his Institutes, An History of the Corruptions of Christianity, describing how he thought the teachings of the early Christian church had been "corrupted" or distorted.^[112] Schofield describes the work as "derivative, disorganized, wordy, and repetitive, detailed, exhaustive, and devastatingly argued".^[113] The text addresses issues ranging from the divinity of Christ to the proper form for the Lord's Supper. Priestley followed up in 1786 with the provocatively titled book, An History of Early Opinions concerning Jesus Christ, compiled from Original Writers, proving that the Christian Church was at first Unitarian. Thomas Jefferson would later write of the profound effect that these two books had on him: "I have read his Corruptions of Christianity, and Early Opinions of Jesus, over and over again; and I rest on them … as the basis of my own faith. These writings have never been answered."^[114] Although a few readers such as Jefferson and other Rational Dissenters approved of the work, it was harshly reviewed because of its extreme theological positions, particularly its rejection of the Trinity.^[115] Priestley by Ellen Sharples (1794)[1] Joseph Priestley (March 13, 1733 (old style) â€“ February 8, 1804) was a British natural philosopher, political theorist, clergyman, theologian, and educator. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Joseph Priestley by Henry Fuseli, commissioned by Priestleys friend and publisher, Joseph Johnson An History of the Corruptions of Christianity, published by Joseph Johnson in 1782, was the fourth part of eighteenth-century Dissenting minister Joseph Priestleys Institutes of Natural and Revealed Religion (1772-74). ... Thomas Jefferson (13 April 1743 N.S.â€“4 July 1826) was the third President of the United States (1801â€“09), the principal author of the Declaration of Independence (1776), and one of the most influential Founding Fathers for his promotion of the ideals of Republicanism in the United States. ... This article is about the Christian Trinity. ...

In 1785, while Priestley was engaged in a pamphlet war over Corruptions, he also published The Importance and Extent of Free Enquiry, claiming that the Reformation had not really reformed the church.^[116] In words that would boil over into a national debate, he challenged his readers to enact change: The Protestant Reformation was a movement which began in the 16th century as a series of attempts to reform the Roman Catholic Church, but ended in division and the establishment of new institutions, most importantly Lutheranism, Reformed churches, and Anabaptists. ...

Although discouraged by friends from using such inflammatory language, Priestley refused to back down from his opinions in print and he included it, forever branding himself as "Gunpowder Joe". After the publication of this seeming call for revolution in the midst of the French Revolution, pamphleteers stepped up their attacks on Priestley and he and his church were even threatened with legal action.^[118] The French Revolution (1789â€“1815) was a period of political and social upheaval in the political history of France and Europe as a whole, during which the French governmental structure, previously an absolute monarchy with feudal privileges for the aristocracy and Catholic clergy, underwent radical change to forms based on...

In 1787, 1789, and 1790, Dissenters again tried to repeal the Test and Corporation Acts. Although initially it looked as if they might succeed, by 1790, with the fears of revolution looming in Parliament, few were swayed by appeals to equal rights. Political cartoons, one of the most effective and popular media of the time, skewered the Dissenters and Priestley.^[119] In Parliament, William Pitt and Edmund Burke argued against the repeal, a betrayal that angered Priestley and his friends, who had expected the two men's support. Priestley wrote a series of Letters to William Pitt^[120] and Letters to Burke^[121] in an attempt to persuade them otherwise, but these publications only further inflamed the populace against him. The several Test Acts were a series of English penal laws that imposed various civil disabilities on Roman Catholics and Nonconformists. ... The Corporation Act of 1661 belongs to the general category of test acts, designed for the express purpose of restricting public offices in England to members of the Church of England. ... William Pitt the Younger (28 May 1759 â€“ 23 January 1806) was a British politician of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. ... Edmund Burke (January 12, 1729[1] â€“ July 9, 1797) was an Anglo-Irish statesman, author, orator, political theorist, and philosopher, who served for many years in the British House of Commons as a member of the Whig party. ...

Dissenters such as Priestley who supported the French Revolution came under increasing suspicion as scepticism regarding the revolution grew.^[122] In its propaganda against "radicals", Pitt's administration used the "gunpowder" statement to argue that Priestley and other Dissenters wanted to overthrow the government. Burke, in his famous Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790), tied natural philosophers, and specifically Priestley, to the French Revolution, writing that radicals who supported science in Britain "considered man in their experiments no more than they do mice in an air pump".^[123] Burke also associated republican principles with alchemy and insubstantial air, mocking the scientific work done by both Priestley and French chemists. He made much in his later writings of the connections between "Gunpowder Joe", science, and Lavoisier—who was improving gunpowder for the French in their war against Britain.^[124] Paradoxically, a secular statesman, Burke, argued against science and maintained that religion should be the basis of civil society, whereas a Dissenting minister, Priestley, argued that religion could not provide the basis for civil society and should be restricted to one's private life.^[125] Title page from Reflections Reflections on the Revolution in France is a work of political commentary written by statesman and philosopher Edmund Burke, first published on 1 November 1790. ... Republicanism is the ideology of governing a nation as a republic, with an emphasis on liberty, rule of law, popular sovereignty and the civic virtue practiced by citizens. ... Combatants Great Britain Austria Prussia Spain[1] Russia Sardinia Ottoman Empire Portugal Dutch Republic[2] France The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states. ...

Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The attack on Joseph Priestleys home, Fairhill (lithograph by Charles Joseph Hullmandel) The Priestley Riots (also known as the Birmingham Riots of 1791) took place from 14 July to 17 July 1791 in Birmingham, Kingdom of Great Britain; the rioters main targets were religious Dissenters, most notably the politically...

Birmingham Riots of 1791

The animus that had been building against Dissenters and supporters of the American and French Revolutions exploded in July 1791. Priestley and several other Dissenters had arranged to have a celebratory dinner on the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille, a provocative action in a country where many disapproved of the French Revolution and feared that it might spread to Britain. Fearing violence, Priestley was convinced by his friends not to attend. Rioters gathered outside the hotel during the banquet and attacked the attendees as they left. They moved on to the New Meeting and Old Meeting churches—and burned both to the ground. Priestley and his wife fled from their home; although their son William and others stayed behind to protect their property, the mob overcame them and torched Priestley's house, destroying his valuable laboratory and all of the family's belongings. Other Dissenters' homes were burned in the three-day riot. Priestley spent several days hiding with friends until he was able to travel safely to London. The carefully executed attacks of the "mob" and the farcical trials of only a handful of the "leaders" convinced many at the time—and modern historians later—that the attacks were planned and condoned by local Birmingham magistrates. When George III was eventually forced to send troops to the area, he said: "I cannot but feel better pleased that Priestley is the sufferer for the doctrines he and his party have instilled, and that the people see them in their true light."^[126] The attack on Joseph Priestleys home, Fairhill (lithograph by Charles Joseph Hullmandel) The Priestley Riots (also known as the Birmingham Riots of 1791) took place from 14 July to 17 July 1791 in Birmingham, Kingdom of Great Britain; the rioters main targets were religious Dissenters, most notably the politically... Belligerents French government Parisian militia (predecessor of Frances National Guard) Commanders Bernard-RenÃ© de Launay â€ Prince de Lambesc Camille Desmoulins Strength 114 soldiers, 30 artillery pieces 600 - 1,000 insurgents Casualties and losses 1 (6 or possibly 8 killed after surrender. ... A magistrate is a judicial officer. ... George III (George William Frederick) (4 June 1738–29 January 1820) was King of Great Britain, and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until 1 January 1801, and thereafter King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death. ...

Hackney (1791–94)

Unable to return to Birmingham, the Priestleys eventually settled in Clapton, near Hackney, where Priestley gave a series of lectures on history and natural philosophy at the Dissenting academy, New College. Friends helped the couple rebuild their lives, contributing money, books, and laboratory equipment. Priestley tried to obtain restitution from the government for the destruction of his Birmingham property, but he was never fully reimbursed.^[128] He also published An Appeal to the Public on the Subject of the Riots in Birmingham (1791),^[129] which indicted the people of Birmingham for allowing the riots to occur and for "violating the principles of English government".^[130] Hackney was an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex. ...

The couple's friends urged them to leave Britain and emigrate to either France or the new United States, even though Priestley had received an appointment to preach for the Gravel Pit Meeting congregation. The sermons he preached there, particularly the two Fast Sermons, reflect his growing millenarianism, his belief that the end of the world was fast approaching. After comparing Biblical prophecies to recent history, Priestley concluded that the French Revolution was a harbinger of the Second Coming of Christ. Priestley's works had always had a millennial cast, but after the beginning of the French Revolution, this strain increased.^[131] He wrote to a younger friend that while he himself would not see the Second Coming, his friend "may probably live to see it … It cannot, I think be more than twenty years [away]."^[132] Fasting is primarily the act of willingly abstaining from some or all food, drink, or both, for a period of time. ... Millennialism (or chiliasm), from millennium, which literally means thousand years, is primarily a belief expressed in some Christian denominations, and literature, that there will be a Golden Age or Paradise on Earth where Christ will reign prior to the final judgment and future eternal state, primarily derived from the book... The French Revolution (1789â€“1815) was a period of political and social upheaval in the political history of France and Europe as a whole, during which the French governmental structure, previously an absolute monarchy with feudal privileges for the aristocracy and Catholic clergy, underwent radical change to forms based on... For other uses, see Second Coming (disambiguation). ...

Daily life became more difficult for the family: Priestley was burned in effigy along with Thomas Paine; vicious political cartoons continued to be published about him; letters were sent to him from across the country, comparing him to the devil and Guy Fawkes; tradespeople feared the family's business; and Priestley's Royal Academy friends distanced themselves. As the penalties became harsher for those who spoke out against the government, and despite his being elected to the French National Convention by three separate departments in 1792, Priestley decided to move with his family to America. Five weeks after Priestley left, William Pitt's administration began arresting radicals for seditious libel, resulting in the famous 1794 Treason Trials.^[133] For other persons of the same name, see Thomas Paine (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Guido Fawkes (disambiguation). ... This article is about the legislative body and constitutional convention during the French Revolution. ... William Pitt the Younger (28 May 1759 â€“ 23 January 1806) was a British politician of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. ... Sedition refers to a legal designation of non-overt conduct that is deemed by a legal authority as being acts of treason, and hence deserving of legal punishment. ... Thomas Hardys account of the trials (second edition) The 1794 Treason Trials, arranged by the administration of William Pitt, were intended to cripple the British radical movement of the 1790s. ...

Pennsylvania (1794–1804)

The Priestleys arrived in New York City in 1794. They were immediately fêted by various political factions vying to gain Priestley's endorsement. Priestley declined their entreaties, hoping to avoid political discord in his new country. As the couple travelled to their new home in Northumberland, Pennsylvania, they stopped in Philadelphia, where Priestley gave a series of sermons and helped found the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia. Priestley turned down an opportunity to teach chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania, and the couple began building a home in the countryside.^[136] Image File history File links Size of this preview: 437 Ã— 599 pixelsFull resolution (504 Ã— 691 pixel, file size: 57 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Faithful reproductions of two-dimensional original works cannot attract copyright in the U.S. according to the rule in Bridgeman Art Library v. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 437 Ã— 599 pixelsFull resolution (504 Ã— 691 pixel, file size: 57 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Faithful reproductions of two-dimensional original works cannot attract copyright in the U.S. according to the rule in Bridgeman Art Library v. ... Rembrandt Peale (February 22, 1778â€“October 3, 1860) was a 19th century American artist that received critical acclaim for his portraits of presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. ... Joseph Priestley House Main article: Joseph Priestley The Joseph Priestley House, a National Historic Landmark, was the home of the scientist and political theorist Joseph Priestley from when he built it in 1794 to his death in 1804. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... Northumberland is a borough located in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania. ... For other uses, see Philadelphia (disambiguation) and Philly. ... The First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia is a Unitarian church located at 2125 Chestnut Street in Philadelphia, PA. Since the mid-90s, the churchs basement rec room, known colloquially as The Church, has been a popular venue for small-scale independent music concerts in the city. ... This article is about the private Ivy League university in Philadelphia. ...

Priestley's attempts to avoid political controversy in the United States failed. In 1795, William Cobbett published Observations on the Emigration of Dr. Joseph Priestley, which accused him of treason against Britain and attempted to undermine his scientific credibility. His political fortunes took an even worse turn when Cobbett obtained a set of letters sent to Priestley by the radical printer John Hurford Stone and the liberal novelist Helen Maria Williams, who were both living in revolutionary France. Cobbett published the letters in his newspaper, asserting that Priestley and his friends were fomenting a revolution.^[137] Priestley was eventually forced to defend himself in print.^[138] William Cobbett, portrait in oils possibly by George Cooke around 1831. ... John Hurford Stone (1763 â€“ 1818) was a British radical political reformer and publisher who spent much of his life in France. ... Helen Maria Williams (1761 or 1762–1827) was a British novelist, poet, and translator of French-language works. ...

Family matters also made Priestley's time in America difficult. His son Henry died in 1795, probably of malaria. Mary Priestley died soon after in 1796; she was already ill and never fully recovered after the shock of her son's death.^[139] After his wife's death, Priestley wrote to a friend: "I feel quite unhinged and incapable of the exertions I used to make. Having been always very domestic, reading and writing with my wife sitting near me, and often reading to her, I miss her everywhere."^[140] Priestley's family relations deteriorated even further in 1800 when a local Pennsylvania newspaper published an article accusing William Priestley, intoxicated with "French principles", of trying to poison the entire Priestley family—both father and son vigorously denied the story.^[141] Malaria is a vector-borne infectious disease caused by protozoan parasites. ...

Priestley continued the educational projects that had always been important to him, helping to establish the "Northumberland Academy" and donating his library to the fledging institution. He exchanged letters regarding the proper structure of a university with Thomas Jefferson, who used this advice when founding the University of Virginia. Jefferson and Priestley became close and when he had completed his General History of the Christian Church,^[143] he dedicated it to President Jefferson, writing that "it is now only that I can say I see nothing to fear from the hand of power, the government under which I live being for the first time truly favourable to me."^[144] For other uses, see Utopia (disambiguation). ... Thomas Jefferson (13 April 1743 N.S.â€“4 July 1826) was the third President of the United States (1801â€“09), the principal author of the Declaration of Independence (1776), and one of the most influential Founding Fathers for his promotion of the ideals of Republicanism in the United States. ... The University of Virginia (also called U.Va. ...

Priestley tried to continue his scientific investigations in America with the support of the American Philosophical Association. He was hampered by lack of news from Europe; unaware of the latest scientific developments, Priestley was no longer on the forefront of discovery. Although the majority of his publications focused on defending phlogiston theory, he also did some original work on spontaneous generation and dreams. Despite Priestley's reduced scientific output, his presence stimulated American interest in chemistry.^[145] Phlogiston theory was a 17th century attempt to explain oxidation processes, such as fire and rust. ... Abiogenesis, in its most general sense, is the hypothetical generation of life from non-living matter. ...

By 1801, Priestley had become so ill that he could no longer write or experiment. He died on the morning of 6 February 1804.^[146] Priestley's epitaph reads: is the 37th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1804 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

Legacy

By the time he died in 1804, Priestley had been made a member of every major scientific society in the world and he had discovered numerous substances.^[149] The 19th-century French naturalist George Cuvier, in his eulogy of Priestley, praised his discoveries while at the same time lamenting his refusal to abandon phlogiston theory, calling him "the father of modern chemistry [who] never acknowledged his daughter".^[150] Priestley published more than 150 works on topics ranging from political philosophy to education to theology to natural philosophy.^[151] He led and inspired British radicals during the 1790s, paved the way for utilitarianism,^[152] and helped found Unitarianism.^[153] A wide variety of philosophers, scientists, and poets became associationists as a result of his redaction of David Hartley's Observations on Man, including Erasmus Darwin, Coleridge, William Wordsworth, John Stuart Mill, Alexander Bain, and Herbert Spencer.^[154] Immanuel Kant praised Priestley in his Critique of Pure Reason (1781), writing that he "knew how to combine his paradoxical teaching with the interests of religion".^[4] Indeed, it was Priestley's aim to "put the most 'advanced' Enlightenment ideas into the service of a rationalized though heterodox Christianity, under the guidance of the basic principles of scientific method".^[155] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a learned society (professional association) based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. ... The Priestley Medal is awarded by the American Chemical Society (ACS) for distinguished service in the field of chemistry. ... Georges Cuvier Baron Georges LÃ©opold ChrÃ©tien FrÃ©dÃ©ric Dagobert Cuvier (August 23, 1769â€“May 13, 1832) was a French naturalist and zoologist. ... This article discusses utilitarian ethical theory. ... Topics in Christianity Movements Â· Denominations Ecumenism Â· Preaching Â· Prayer Music Â· Liturgy Â· Calendar Symbols Â· Art Â· Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul Â· Church Fathers Constantine Â· Athanasius Â· Augustine Anselm Â· Aquinas Â· Palamas Â· Luther Calvin Â· Wesley Arius Â· Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury Â· Catholic Pope Coptic Pope Â· Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box: Unitarianism is the belief... In psychology and marketing, two concepts or stimuli are associated when the experience of one leads to the effects of another, due to repeated pairing. ... Title page from the first edition of the Observations Observations on Man, his Frame, his Duty, and his Expectations is eighteenth-century British philosopher David Hartleys major work. ... This article is about Erasmus Darwin who lived 1731â€“1802; for his descendants with the same name see Erasmus Darwin (disambiguation). ... Wordsworth redirects here. ... John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 â€“ 8 May 1873), British philosopher, political economist, civil servant and Member of Parliament, was an influential liberal thinker of the 19th century. ... Alexander Bain A different Alexander Bain invented the electric clock, facsimile machine and earth battery. ... For other persons named Herbert Spencer, see Herbert Spencer (disambiguation). ... Kant redirects here. ... Title page of the 1781 edition. ...

Considering the extent of Priestley's influence, relatively little scholarship has been devoted to him. In the early 20th century, Priestley was most often described as a conservative and dogmatic scientist who was nevertheless a political and religious reformer.^[156] In a historiographic review essay, historian of science Simon Schaffer describes the two dominant portraits of Priestley: the first depicts him as "a playful innocent" who stumbled across his discoveries; the second portrays him as innocent as well as "warped" for not understanding their implications better. Assessing Priestley's works as a totality has been difficult for scholars because of his wide-ranging interests. His scientific discoveries have usually been divorced from his theological and metaphysical publications to make an analysis of his life and writings easier, but this approach has been challenged recently by scholars such as John McEvoy and Robert Schofield. Although early Priestley scholarship claimed that his theological and metaphysical works were "distractions" and "obstacles" to his scientific work, scholarship published in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s maintained that Priestley's works constituted a unified theory. However, as Schaffer explains, no convincing synthesis of his work has yet been expounded.^[157] More recently, in 2001, historian of science Dan Eshet has argued that efforts to create a "synoptic view" have resulted only in a rationalization of the contradictions in Priestley's thought, because they have been "organized around philosophical categories" and have "separate[d] the producers of scientific ideas from any social conflict".^[158] Simon Schaffer is a professor of the history and philosophy of science at Cambridge University. ...

Priestley has been remembered by the towns in which he served as a reforming educator and minister and by the scientific organizations he influenced. Two educational institutions have been named in his honour: Priestley College in Warrington and Joseph Priestley College in Leeds.^[159] In Birstall, the Leeds City Square, and Birmingham, he is memorialized through statues,^[160] and plaques commemorating him have been posted in Birmingham and Warrington.^[161] Also, since 1952 Dickinson College has presented the Priestley Award to a scientist who makes "discoveries which contribute to the welfare of mankind".^[162] Priestley College is a sixth form college for 16-19 year olds, located in Wilderspool (though can be argued to be part of Stockton Heath or Latchford), Warrington, Cheshire, UK. It also offers adult courses, as well as professional training (albeit on another site), and is an associate college of... Joseph Priestley College was founded in 1955 and it serves the communities of South Leeds. ... The City of Leeds is a metropolitan district with city status within the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire, England, with a population of 726,939. ... A paved open area in Leeds city centre in West Yorkshire, England. ... Chamberlain Square is a public open space in central Birmingham, England, named after Joseph Chamberlain. ... A mermaid sits atop Dickinson Colleges Old West. ...

Selected works

Image File history File links Download high resolution version (829x1528, 208 KB) Summary Statue of Joseph Priestley, Chamberlain Square, Birmingham, England. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (829x1528, 208 KB) Summary Statue of Joseph Priestley, Chamberlain Square, Birmingham, England. ... Chamberlain Square is a public open space in central Birmingham, England, named after Joseph Chamberlain. ... Priestley, painted late in life by Rembrandt Peale (c. ... Title page from the first edition of Joseph Priestleys Rudiments of English Grammar (1761) The Rudiments of English Grammar (1761) was a popular English grammar textbook written the eighteenth-century British polymath Joseph Priestley. ... A redacted version of Priestleys Chart of Biography (1765) In 1765, eighteenth-century British polymath Joseph Priestley published A Chart of Biography and its accompanying prose description as a supplement to his Lectures on History and General Policy. ... Title page from Joseph Priestleys Essay on Education Essay on a Course of Liberal Education for Civil and Active Life (1765) is an educational treatise by the eighteenth-century British polymath Joseph Priestley. ... Joseph Priestleys electrical machine, illustrated in the first edition of his Familiar Introduction to Electricity (1768) The History and Present State of Electricity (1767), by eighteenth-century British polymath Joseph Priestley, is a survey of the study of electricity up until 1766 as well as a description of experiments... Title page to Joseph Priestleys Essay Essay on the First Principles of Government (1768) is an early work of modern liberal political theory by eighteenth-century British polymath Joseph Priestley. ... The earliest known portrait of Joseph Priestley, known as the Leeds portrait (c. ... Title page from the second edition of Joseph Priestleys Institutes of Natural and Revealed Revealed Religion The Institutes of Natural and Revealed Religion, written by eighteenth-century British Dissenting minister and polymath Joseph Priestley, is a three-volume work designed for religious education published by Joseph Johnson between 1772... Title page from Experiments and Observations Experiments and Observations on Different Kinds of Air (1774â€“86) is a six-volume work published by eighteenth-century British polymath Joseph Priestley which reports a series of his experiments on airs or gases, most notably his discovery of oxygen gas (which he called... Title page from the first edition of Disquisitions relating to Matter and Spirit (1777) Disquisitions relating to Matter and Spirit (1777) is a major work of metaphysics written by eighteenth-century British polymath Joseph Priestley and published by Joseph Johnson. ... Title page from Joseph Priestleys Philosophical Necessity The Doctrine of Philosophical Necessity (1777) is one of the major metaphysical works of eighteenth-century British polymath Joseph Priestley. ... Title page from Joseph Priestleys Letters Letters to a Philosophical Unbeliever (1780) is a multi-volume series of books on metaphysics by eighteenth-century British polymath Joseph Priestley. ... Joseph Priestley by Henry Fuseli, commissioned by Priestleys friend and publisher, Joseph Johnson An History of the Corruptions of Christianity, published by Joseph Johnson in 1782, was the fourth part of eighteenth-century Dissenting minister Joseph Priestleys Institutes of Natural and Revealed Religion (1772-74). ... Title page from Joseph Priestleys Lectures Lectures on History and General Policy (1788) is the published version of a set of lectures on history and government given by the eighteenth-century British polymath Joseph Priestley to the students of Warrington Academy. ... Engraving by Charles A. E. Turner (1836) of a Priestley portrait commissioned by Joseph Johnson from Henry Fuseli (c. ...

Contents

Early life and education (1733–55)

Daventry Academy

Needham Market and Nantwich (1755–61)

Warrington Academy (1761–67)

Educator and historian

History of Electricity

Leeds (1767–73)

Minister of Mill Hill Chapel

Religious controversialist

Defender of Dissenters and political philosopher

Natural philosopher: electricity, Optics, and soda water

Calne (1773–80)

Materialist philosopher

Founder of Unitarianism

Experiments and Observations on Different Kinds of Air

Discovery of oxygen

Birmingham (1780–91)

Chemical Revolution

Defender of Dissenters and French Revolutionaries

Birmingham Riots of 1791

Hackney (1791–94)

Pennsylvania (1794–1804)

Legacy

Selected works

See also

Notes

Bibliography

Primary materials

Biographies

Other secondary materials

External links

Short online biographies

Contents

Early life and education (1733–55) GA_googleFillSlot("encyclopedia_square");

Daventry Academy

Needham Market and Nantwich (1755–61)

Warrington Academy (1761–67)

Educator and historian

History of Electricity

Leeds (1767–73)

Minister of Mill Hill Chapel

Religious controversialist

Defender of Dissenters and political philosopher

Natural philosopher: electricity, Optics, and soda water

Calne (1773–80)

Materialist philosopher

Founder of Unitarianism

Experiments and Observations on Different Kinds of Air

Discovery of oxygen

Birmingham (1780–91)

Chemical Revolution

Defender of Dissenters and French Revolutionaries

Birmingham Riots of 1791

Hackney (1791–94)

Pennsylvania (1794–1804)

Legacy

Selected works

See also

Notes

Bibliography

Primary materials

Biographies

Other secondary materials

External links

Short online biographies

Early life and education (1733–55)