Joseph Priestley biography. Joseph Priestley - the man who discovered the "new air
(1733-1804) English chemist
The life of Joseph Priestley was unusually restless and colorful. Although he received theological education, his discoveries in chemistry determined its development for many decades to come. We can say that Priestley was the first representative of the chemistry of gases, and it was his work that made it possible to make a real revolution in this science in the second half of the 18th century.
Joseph Priestley was born on a small farm near the English city of Leeds. His father was a master cloth maker, and the family barely made ends meet. When Joseph was nine years old, his father handed him over to be raised by his aunt, his mother's older sister, who owned a small estate.
Home teachers began to work with Joseph. In just a year, the boy prepared so much that he was able to enter the Calvinist primary school. Priestley soon became her top student. He excelled above all in the study of ancient languages: at the age of thirteen, Joseph Priestley was fluent in Hebrew and Ancient Greek. Four years later, he finished the course first on the list.
The aunt was going to send Joseph to the academy, but due to a nervous overload, the boy developed a tuberculosis process. Therefore, she moved him to the nearby town of Lisbon, where he settled in his uncle's house and began studying at a financial school. Over time, Joseph's health improved and he began to work with the local pastor as well. With his help, the young man deepened his knowledge of the Hebrew language, and also studied the Arabic language.
In the summer of 1751, Joseph Priestley entered the Calvinist theological academy at Deventry. In addition to theological disciplines, philosophy and natural science were taught there. It was while studying at the academy that Priestley learned about the existence of chemistry and physics and immediately became interested in these sciences.
He soon became one of the best students of the academy and, having graduated from it in the fall of 1755, despite his young age, he was invited to the post of rector of the Protestant cathedral in Suffolk.
For a recent graduate of the academy, such an appointment was very flattering. However, just a few months later, Joseph Priestley leaves Suffolk and moves to the small English town of Natwich. The change was due to the fact that in Natwich he had to combine the duties of a pastor with teaching at a church school. Shortly before his appointment, Priestley had married and badly needed a raise.
Within a few months, the school where he taught became the best in the district. locals vying with each other sought to send their children there. Joseph Priestley not only taught schoolchildren to read and write, but also told them about the world around them, accompanying classes with a demonstration of various experiments. He spent all the money allocated for the school on the purchase of books and various instruments, and all free time carried out in the school laboratory.
However, five years later, a commission that came to the school accused Priestley of freethinking and forbade him to serve in the church. At the invitation of friends, Priestley moved to Warrington and became a teacher of ancient languages at the local university.
At that time, Joseph Priestley did a lot of self-education. He began by taking a chemistry course with the students. What he heard made such an impression on him that he decided to start studying natural science, while simultaneously doing chemical and physical research.
The first serious work of Joseph Priestley was the study of the problem of electrical conductivity. The scientist found that all substances and materials can be divided into two groups: conductive and non-conductive electricity. He discovered that graphite, coal, and red-hot glass conduct electricity as well as metal.
On the advice of Benjamin Franklin, Priestley wrote a monograph, The History of the Doctrine of Electricity. After its publication, he was elected an honorary doctorate from the University of Edinburgh and a Fellow of the Royal Society of London. It is curious that his book was also translated into Russian, and the scientist himself was elected a member Russian Academy Sciences.
Now the position of Joseph Priestley has been strengthened, he has become a recognized authority in natural science and one of the leading teachers of the academy. True, his financial situation has not changed. To get extra money, the scientist had to rent half the rooms in his house.
However, with the help of friends, he managed to obtain permission to preach sermons. Priestley becomes a priest again, and the situation of the family gradually improves. But he still devotes all his free time to science, intensively studying chemistry. The scientist noticed that animals placed in clogged vessels quickly die. After a series of experiments, Priestley realized that during the process of breathing, the composition of the air changes.
Gradually, he established that as a result of breathing or combustion in the air, a substance appears that is easily absorbed by water, and this forms a solution that tastes sour. The scientist also realized that this substance contributes to the development of plants, which, in the process of growth, release “vital air”.
After several dozen experiments, Joseph Priestley managed to isolate two components of ordinary air, which he conventionally designated as “vital” and “non-life”. Just a few years after Priestley's death, it was discovered that these names should be understood as two gases that make up the bulk of the atmosphere - oxygen and nitrogen.
Joseph Priestley regularly published his writings, which became known to scientists not only in his country. In 1772 he was elected an honorary member of the Paris Academy of Sciences. In December of the same year, his position changed radically: Lord Shelburne invited him to become his personal librarian. At the disposal of the scientist was allocated own house in the country estate of the lord and part of the rooms in the London manor of Shelburne. He was able to buy scientific literature and equipment needed for the experiments.
Joseph Priestley was also to study physics and chemistry with the sons of the lord. At the Shelburne estate, he made another discovery. The scientist was the first in the world to isolate pure hydrogen. True, in accordance with the ideas of that time, he decided that he managed to get the so-called phlogiston - a substance that is present in all combustible objects.
Together with Lord Shelburne, Priestley made a long trip to Europe. He was especially well received in France. The scientist was elected a member of the French Academy and received French citizenship as a sign of special respect. Returning to England, the scientist continued to live at the Shelburne estate. However, he soon leaves him, because his wife's father suddenly died, and Priestley inherited a large estate near Birmingham, where he worked for more than ten years. In the autumn of 1793, he had to leave England because of the outbreak french revolution: the scientist retained French citizenship and therefore feared arrest.
In 1794, Joseph Priestley and his family moved to America and settled in the town of Northumberland. There the scientist lived the last ten years of his life. Although, due to his advanced age, Priestley stopped working in the laboratory, he was still able to publish several books. But life in America did not bring him happiness. Shortly after the move, he died of tuberculosis. younger son, and next year - and the wife. Priestley moved into the family of his eldest son.
Shortly before his death, he was offered to become rector of the University of Pennsylvania. But the scientist was forced to refuse, because he no longer had the strength for such an active work. Nevertheless, he was solemnly proclaimed the honorary rector of the university.
The Englishman Joseph Priestley, a chemist, naturalist, philosopher and concurrently a priest, in 1767 received carbonated water for the first time in the world. However, mass production of gas drinks came much later.
The history of the carbonated drink
Often visiting a neighbor brewer, Joseph Priestley noticed the fermentation of beer wort. As a scientist engaged in the study of gases, his attention was attracted by the bubbles released during this.
Being confident in the healing nature of the gas released, the priest tried to catch the vapors with glassware, but the result was not satisfactory. Deciding to act differently, he placed a couple of containers of mineral water directly above the wort. After waiting for some time, Priestley tasted the result of his experiments.
The result was amazing - the scientist expected to make a medicine, but he got a pleasant, tickling tongue and nose, a drink! Soon managed to make a whole bottle of real soda. Still hoping for the miraculous properties of his discovery, Joseph, five years later, read a report on the possible benefits of water saturated with carbon dioxide in the treatment of scurvy.
Impressed by the performance, the French Academy of Sciences accepted Priestley into their ranks. Soon the inventor published a book about his discovery. It was after this publication about this discovery that carbonated H2O went to the people, and the inventor was awarded the Royal Society medal.
From the artisanal method of saturating water with carbon dioxide “on the knee”, the production of soda was transferred to a technically more advanced area by Thorbern Bergman, a scientist from Sweden. He created an apparatus that allowed the liquid to be saturated with carbon dioxide under pressure. Naming the device saturator, the inventor safely forgot about its existence, because he simply did not know what to do next.
New round and first sales
Only 13 years later, a watchmaker, jeweler and yet another inventor Johann Jacob Schwepp, who lives in Switzerland, improved the Bergman saturator. Schwepp began to produce carbonated, but still unsweetened drinks on an industrial scale. The dream of creating non-alcoholic champagne prompted him to act.
After some time, Schwepp decided to reduce the cost and simplify production. Instead of real carbon dioxide, they began to use ordinary baking soda. This is how soda, so beloved by the British, appeared. In 1792, the industrialist founded the Schwepp & Co company, which still exists today and is known as Schweppes.
It wasn't until 14 years after Jacob Schwepp's death that sweet lemonade was introduced for the first time. And soon fruit juices and the newly discovered and isolated citric acid began to be added to the drink.
In 1851, production took on such a scale that at the Great London Exhibition, which the company provided with drinks, a fountain filled with soda from Schwepp & Co. was organized. By the way, this fountain still adorns the Schweppes logo.
No less accidentally and jointly was invented, which was later called Eskimo.
BIOGRAPHY OF JOSEPH PRIESTLEY (1733-1804)Joseph Priestley (Joseph Priestley, 1733-1804) - English priest, chemist, philosopher, public figure, was born in Fieldhead, near Leeds (Yorkshire, England) on March 13, 1733. He was the eldest of six children in the family of Jonas, a cloth maker Priestley. From 1742 he was brought up by Sarah Keighley, his maternal aunt. Being a Calvinist by religion, she rather zealously tried to educate her nephew in the same spirit, which, however, did not justify her hopes in the future.
Joseph Priestley studied at the Batley Grammar School, where he studied Latin and Greek in depth. After a short break in his studies due to illness, Priestley decided to devote his life to serving the church. By this time he had already succeeded enough in the study of other languages and knew French, German, Italian, Arabic and even Chaldean.
Start scientific activity and religious pursuits
Joseph Priestley.
Disillusionment with Calvinism led to his admission to the liberal Deventry Theological Academy. He entered the academy in 1751, the year it was founded. In addition to theology, Priestley was engaged in philosophy, natural science, foreign languages at the academy, and by the end of it he had perfectly studied following languages- French, Italian, Latin, German, Ancient Greek, Arabic, Syriac, Chaldean, Hebrew. In 1755 Priestley became an assistant minister in Suffolk. However, the fact that he had at that time a pronounced interest in the Aryan idea did not contribute to the establishment of normal relations with the parishioners, and he was accused of freethinking.
Three years later he became a chaplain at Nantwitch, with a subsequent transfer in 1761 to Warrington Academy as a lecturer. foreign languages and literature. At the academy, Joseph Priestley became interested in studying chemistry, with the help of Matthew Turner, who was specially invited to lecture by the patron of the academy, John Sheddon. While working in Warrington, Joseph Priestley wrote a course Basics English grammar
(Rudiments of English Grammer), which was published and used as a textbook for nearly 50 years.
In 1762 Joseph Priestley was ordained and in the same year he married Mary Wilkinson. From that time on, Priestley tried to spend one month each year in London, where he met Benjamin Franklin(Benjamin Franklin) John Canton(John Canton) Richard Price(Richard Price) and other prominent personalities.
At the suggestion of the famous American scientist and politician B. Franklin, with whom they became friends for life, he wrote a monograph in 1767 History of the doctrine of electricity
(The History and Present State of Electricity). In this book, Priestley summarized what was known in the field at the time and described his own experiments. By the way, it was Priestley who later, in 1767, discovered that graphite conducts electricity. In the same year, he made an even greater contribution to electrophysics, suggesting that the relationship of electrically charged particles is similar to the operation of Newton's law of gravity, which was later proved by the French physicist Coulomb.
In 1764 he was elected an honorary doctor of the University of Edinburgh, and in 1767 a member of the Royal Society of London.
In 1767, Priestley moved to Mill Hill Chapel near Leeds, where he had more time for self-education, thanks to which he achieved great success in theology. The first of a large series of treatises ,
written by Priestley An Appeal to Serious and Fair Professors of Christianity,
appeared in 1770. At the same time, he began the publication of polemical letters, which also included the work Repository of theology
(1769), as well as a journal reflecting Priestley's very radical theological views. He wrote a lot about the organization of the Christian church, the need for regular acceptance of the sacraments, and the constitutional rights of non-Christians and sectarians. Ultimately, Priestley's religious pursuits brought him into the fold of the Unitarian Reformed Church, and he held a very independent position in relation to the Anglican Church, the main one in Britain.
Scientific discoveries and achievements of Joseph Priestley.
It should be noted that a deep faith in God and the conviction that it was Providence that chose him, Priestley, to reveal to people the "secrets of the universe", in the most unexpected way combined in him with the true, ardent enthusiasm of a genuine scientific researcher.
Living near Leeds, Priestley continued to persevere in the study of chemistry. Surprisingly, but living in a provincial setting, unknown to anyone, a modest priest gradually made major discoveries in the field of scientific chemistry one after another. His achievements in the field of gas chemistry were especially significant. Priestley was the first to obtain hydrogen chloride, ammonia, silicon fluoride, sulfur dioxide ...
Discovery of carbon dioxide.
There was a brewery next door to Joseph Priestley's house, where he sometimes went. Here, Priestley watched with interest as the beer fermented in the vats, releasing small bubbles of gas to the surface. The owners of the establishment were, of course, completely indifferent to Priestley's questions about the essence of gas bubbles, and the answer of one of his contemporaries, a chemist Joseph Black(Joseph Black, 1728-1799) what is it - "fixed air" also did not satisfy his curiosity. Priestley picked up some chemical glassware and began to capture and study the collected gas bubbles. So in 1771 it was rediscovered carbon dioxide.
Although carbon dioxide had already been discovered in 1754 Joseph Black, studied it in more detail and singled out Priestley in its pure form. He also owns the discovery in 1771 of the role of carbon dioxide in the respiration of plants. Priestley noticed that green plants in the light continue to live in the atmosphere of this gas and even make it breathable. Priestley's classic experiment with live mice under a hood, where the air is "refreshed" by green branches, was included in all elementary textbooks of natural science and lies at the origins of the theory of photosynthesis.
Invention of soda water and eraser.
Nowadays, few people know that mankind owes the appearance of such popular carbonated drinks to Joseph Priestley. In itself, the idea of producing carbonated soft drinks arose a long time ago. It owes its origin to ordinary mineral water. Everything was very simple - sparkling water from the springs always aroused delight: it was interesting to drink it, it tickled the nose, and swimming in it was the height of bliss. In addition, mineral water has proven to be beneficial to health.
The discovery of a way to carbonate water was made very simple. In one of the breweries in Leeds, Priestley hoisted two containers of water over the brewing beer. After a while, the water was charged with beer carbon dioxide. The first bottle of drinking sparkling water was made by him in 1767. Three years later, the Swedish chemist Thorbern Bergman invented a device with which it was possible to produce soda in large enough quantities. Jacob Schwepp developed in 1783 an industrial method for making carbonated water. As a matter of fact, it all started with this, let's go ... In the mid-1800s, sugar, fruit juices and flavorings began to be added to fizzy water. Then there were companies specializing in the production and sale of carbonated drinks. The experiences of an English provincial priest and his followers eventually led to the fact that now only in the USA soda water is sold in the amount of about 50 billion dollars a year. Priestley himself did not even think about such a potential commercial success of his discovery. He naively believed that carbonated water could be an excellent treatment for scurvy, based on the false notion that putrefaction is associated with the loss of "fixed air" those. carbon dioxide. In this regard, he even read a report on the properties of carbonated water at the Royal Society in 1772, preparing for the “presentation” a batch of “Pyrmont water” (soda soda according to his own recipe). In the same year his book was published. Making carbonated water
(On Making Carbonated Water), with which the spread of sparkling water around the world actually began. For this work, Priestley was awarded a medal from the Royal Society of London.
Another wonderful invention is associated with the name of Priestley, without which life cannot be imagined at the present time. modern student or student. Priestley accidentally discovered that raw natural rubber was able to erase traces of graphite (pencil) better than bread particles, which were used at that time for the same purpose. This advantage of rubber is due to the fact that rubbing it against the paper produces an electrostatic voltage that allows the rubber particles to attract the graphite particles. And so the well-known eraser was born.
Patronage of Lord Shelbourne.
True glory and great discoveries were still ahead of Joseph Priestley. During his residence in Leeds he published works on electricity, vision and light. After these publications, sir Joseph Banks(Joseph Banks) even recommended Priestley for the position of "astronomer" on the second voyage of Captain Cook, but nothing came of this, perhaps because Banks did not yet have enough influence to implement this idea, and the president of the Royal London scientific society He became only in 1778.
Joseph Priestley, one of the most educated men of his time, understood that his future lay more in science than in religious activity, so he accepted with great interest in 1773 an offer to become the house librarian of the Secretary of State, Lord Shelborne. There is no doubt that the lord, who was well acquainted with Priestley's work, wanted only to pass for the patron of sciences and to bring entertainment and pleasure to the noble guests who visited him in a country villa. But for Joseph Priestley, this opened up wonderful opportunities for developing his scientific research with the help of new laboratory equipment, the purchase of which Shelborne never refused him. Occupied with leading state work, Shelborne himself rarely came to his estate and provided full scope for Priestley's activities. Moreover, he took Priestley with him on trips to Europe, and thus gave him the opportunity to get acquainted with the most famous chemists of France, Germany and Holland.
It was Shelborne's patronage during the seven years that Priestley spent in his house that made it possible for him to complete those remarkable discoveries in the chemistry of gases, which later formed the basis of modern scientific chemistry.
Discovery of nitrous oxide.
The name of Joseph Priestley is remembered and dear to anesthesiologists all over the world, of course, in connection with his discovery in 1772 of nitrous oxide, which later became a widely used and popular anesthetic. How it was?
Acting diluted nitric acid on copper, he first received "saltpeter air"
- nitric oxide (NO). The chemical reaction of the discovery of this gas was as follows:
3Cu + 8HNO 3 = 3Cu(NO3) 2 + 2NO + 4H 2 O
In the air this colorless gas turned brown, turning into nitrogen dioxide (NO2). However, leaving "saltpeter air" for a long time in contact with sulfur and iron, Priestley noticed that the properties of the gas change: while in "nitrate air" the lit candle goes out, in the changed "nitrate air"(which he named "dephlogisticated saltpeter air") she continues to burn. Besides, "dephlogisticated saltpeter air" does not have the property of becoming brown when mixed with atmospheric air, that is, it does not give the reaction discovered by Priestley for NO:
2NO + O 2 \u003d 2NO 2
Consequently, it was already a question of a new gas. And indeed, in the experiment indicated by Priestley, nitrous oxide is obtained, which is formed by the reaction:
6NO + 2Fe + 3H 2 O \u003d 3N 2 O + 2Fe (OH) 3
due to the process of NO reduction under the action of moistened iron. The composition of this reaction was established by the famous chemist Humphrey Davy(Humphry Davy, 1778-1829) only in 1800. It took another 75 years from the moment of Priestley's discovery that this compound came into practice as an anesthetic. The story of the open Priestley also developed differently. nitric oxide (NO), which attracted general attention only in the 20th century, and ISS specialists also show great interest in it.
Discovery of ammonia and hydrogen chloride.
His next discovery was "alkaline air"- ammonia. Joseph Priestley was able to obtain it for the first time in a gaseous state in 1774. To do this, he mixed powders of ammonium chloride NH4Cl (ammonia) and calcium hydroxide Ca (OH) 2 ( slaked lime), and suddenly smelled a pungent smell of a new substance. This odor intensified as the mixture was heated. When Priestley tried to collect the volatile reaction product:
2NH 4 Cl + Ca (OH) 2 \u003d CaCl 2 + 2NH 3 + 2H 2 O
displacing water with it from an inverted vessel, it turned out that the new gas immediately dissolved in it. It was the ammonia.
Since then, the reaction discovered by Priestley has been used in all laboratories in the world to produce ammonia. Later, the scientist began to collect ammonia over liquid mercury, in which this gas is practically insoluble.
According to another legend, this discovery happened as follows. One day, Priestley left two bottles nearby with loose stoppers: with an aqueous solution of ammonia and with hydrochloric acid HCl. The next day, he found on the neck of a bottle with a solution of HCl white coating, and above it - smoking white smoke. Priestley called out to his wife, "Mary, look, new air is coming out of the flask!" All new gases produced - oxygen, oxides of nitrogen, sulfur and carbon - Priestley considered "new air". Then he named ammonia "alkaline air".
Later, the composition of ammonia was established by the French chemist Claude Berthollet in 1784.
In 1772-1774. Joseph Priestley studied in detail the result obtained by him in the interaction of salt and sulfuric acid "hydrochloric air"- hydrogen chloride, which he collected over mercury. In addition, the discoveries of silicon fluoride and sulfur dioxide are associated with Priestley's name. However, the great discovery of oxygen brought him the greatest fame.
The great discovery of oxygen and
quite a bit about the priority on the right to open it.
Priestley's greatest contribution to gas chemistry was his discovery of oxygen (independent of the Swedish chemist Karl Wilhelm Scheele(1742-1786), an apothecary by profession, but an experimental chemist by vocation).
August 1, 1774 Joseph Priestley observed the separation "new air" when heated with a biconvex lens without air access, mercury scale under the glass cap. This solid substance was known to the alchemists under the name Mercurius calcinatus perce, or burnt mercury. In modern chemical language, this substance is called mercury oxide, and the equation for its decomposition when heated is as follows:
The gas, unknown to him, obtained by heating mercury oxide, he led out through a tube into a vessel filled not with water, but with mercury, since Priestley had already been convinced that water dissolves gases too well. Out of curiosity, Priestley introduced a smoldering candle into the collected gas, and it flared up unusually brightly.
You can now imagine how difficult it was to study chemistry at a time when chemical formulas had not yet been invented. What we just wrote short chemical equation, Priestley described in 1774 as follows: “I placed under an overturned jar, immersed in mercury, a little powder of Mercurius calcinatus perce. Then I took a small burning glass and directed the rays of the Sun directly into the jar onto the powder. Air began to be released from the powder, which forced the mercury out of the jar. I began to study this air. And I was surprised, even excited to the depths of my soul, that in this air a candle burns better and brighter than in an ordinary atmosphere.
Of course, such a description of the reaction looks very poetic compared to the usual chemical equation, but, unfortunately, the essence of what happened chemical reaction does not reflect.
Priestley himself, being a supporter of the theory of phlogiston, could not explain the essence of the combustion process; he defended his views even after Antoine Lavoisier(Lavoisier, Antoine Laurent, 1743-1794) promulgated new theory burning.
Until now, there are heated debates - who should be considered the discoverer of oxygen: Joseph Priestley? Carl Wilhelm Scheele? Antoine Lavoisier? ... You can read about the history of the discovery of oxygen and the priority for the right to discover it in the essay "Who discovered oxygen?"
An excellent experimental scientist, Priestley himself underestimated and did not even fully understand some of the greatest discoveries he made. And in the years of his highest glory, Priestley believed that the oxygen he had discovered was "dephlogisticated air",
while nitrogen is "phlogisticated air".
He held on to this concept well into his later life, ardently defending it in a few printed pamphlets from the time of his exile in America.
But in his work, Joseph Priestley was a pioneer and a true model of the objective experimenter. His work on the discovery of gases is truly a classic. And if he himself did not fully understand and develop them, then even during the life of Priestley, other people, on this basis, unfolded in full breadth what became the true foundation of modern chemical science.
However scientific achievements Joseph Priestley were noticed and appreciated. In 1767 he was elected a member of the Royal Society of London; in 1772 a member of the Paris Academy of Sciences; September 11, 1780 an honorary member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences.
Pneumatic medicine.
Joseph Priestley was a prominent representative pneumatology, or pneumatic chemistry- the direction that was created by the chemists of that time, who studied substances in the gaseous state. Currently pneumatology is not considered as a separate branch of natural science, and few people now know that there was once such a science. But a completely different situation and attitude towards it was in the XVII-XVIII centuries. The founder of pneumatic chemistry is considered Jan Gelmont (Jean Baptiste van Helmont, 1577-1644), a doctor by profession, who not only introduced the term "gas", but also discovered the "forest gas" (gas silvestre), unlike air, released by the action of acids on limestone, during the fermentation of young wine and the preparation of beer as well as when burning coal.
It should be noted that the study of the nature of gases, largely induced by supporters of pneumatology, made it possible to discover the physical laws of the dependence of the volume of gases on pressure and temperature. The influence of pressure on the volume of gas was established by R. Boyle in 1660 and E. Mariotte in 1677. Much later, A. Volta (1792) and J.L. Gay-Lussac (1802) established the effect of temperature. These laws, together with Gay-Lussac's law of volumetric relations when gases are combined, formed the basis of pneumatology.
Priestley, further developing Helmont's ideas, began to experimentally study the effect of the gases he discovered on animals and humans. And, of course, first of all, the effect of inhaling open oxygen by him was tested. In the book Experiments and observations concerning various kinds air
He describes the experience of inhaling oxygen thus: “From the greater strength and brightness of the candle flame in this pure air, it can be concluded that it (the gas obtained by Priestley) can be especially useful for the lungs in certain painful cases. I have had the opportunity to experience its effect on myself by inhaling a significant amount of it through a tube. It gave me a wonderful feeling of freedom and lightness in my chest. Who could deny that someday this clean air will become a fashionable means of entertainment? So far, however, only two mice and myself have had the privilege of breathing it.".
In the same book, Priestley wrote: “I cannot but flatter myself that, in due time, the use of these various types of gases will be widely used in medicine”
So was born "pneumatic medicine", which soon grew into a short-term, but very curious fashionable medical hobby. In itself, this hobby did not have any important practical consequences, except for the fact that in an organized Thomas Beddo(Beddoes, Thomas, 1760-1808) "Pneumatic Institute" famous chemist Humphrey Davy(Humphry Davy, 1778-1829) widely developed his work on the study of gas inhalation. But the fact remains indisputable that it was the work of Joseph Priestley that gave rise to this entire highly important field of chemical and medical research, and one can only regret that external historical events and the political activity of Priestley himself turned his interests into a new direction.
Indeed, when Priestley had already discovered nitrous oxide, he was preparing to test it on animals. But at the same time, the turbulent events of the French Revolution began. Priestley took them extremely warmly, but from his own point of view. In the "Declaration of the Rights of Man" he saw the same progressive ideas of development human society whom he has served to this day. The events of the French Revolution prompted Joseph Priestley to quit chemistry and move on to spiritual and educational activities.
And who knows, if not for these circumstances, perhaps Joseph Priestley himself, and not Humphrey Davy, would have discovered the anesthetic properties of nitrous oxide, and perhaps the era of anesthesia would have begun much earlier.
Political and philosophical views of Joseph Priestley. Forced emigration to the United States of America.
In 1780 Joseph Priestley moved to Birmingham. On December 31, 1780, he became the second pastor of the New Meeting Reformed Church in Birmingham. He was not heavily loaded with pastoral activities, he only read sermons on Sundays, which freed up time for in-depth studies of philosophy and spiritual and educational activities. Perhaps it was because of this that he refused favorable working conditions in Shelborne's laboratories. He even temporarily left his favorite chemistry classes.
IN philosophical views Priestley surprisingly combined materialism and deep faith in God. In a long and passionate polemic with supporters of various idealistic schools, Priestley taught that nature is material, and that the spirit (consciousness) is a property of matter moving according to the inevitable laws inherent in it. At the same time, adhering to deism, Priestley believed that these laws themselves were created by divine reason.
With the principle of the materiality of the world, Priestley connected the idea of the strictest causation (necessity) of all phenomena, rejecting the theologians' assertions that, with such an understanding, a person as a particle of matter is not responsible for his actions. Priestley also owns a number of valuable works on the history of science and the methodology of scientific research.
Priestley developed and popularized the doctrine David Gartley(1705-1757). In an effort to establish the exact laws of mental processes to control human behavior, Gartley and Priestley tried to apply the principles of Newtonian physics for this. According to this teaching, the vibrations of the external ether cause corresponding vibrations in the sense organs, brain and muscles, and these latter are in relation to parallel to order and connection. mental phenomena, from elementary feelings to thinking and will. Following the teachings of Locke, Hartley was the first to turn the mechanism of association into a universal principle of explanation. mental activity. According to Hartley, the mental world of a person develops gradually as a result of the complication of primary elements through the association of mental phenomena due to their contiguity in time and frequency of repetitions; the driving forces of development are pleasure and pain. Although mechanistic, Gartley's teaching was a major step forward on the path of a materialistic understanding of the psyche. It also influenced ethics, aesthetics, logic, pedagogy, and biology.
Based in Birmingham, major center middle England, Joseph Priestley became a member of the so-called Lunar Society(Lunar Society), where he became friends with the most prominent scientists and researchers: the inventor of the steam engine, James Watt; his business partner Matthew Boulton; Erasmus Darwin, poet and scientist, grandfather of the great Charles Darwin; astronomer William Herschel; William Murdoch, inventor of gas lighting; Richard Edgeworths, who worked on the creation of an optical telegraph; and many others. The "Lunar Society" set itself a daunting task: to direct the achievements of science and new production technologies to improve the living conditions of mankind. The "lunar" history of the appearance of its name is interesting. Society meetings were traditionally scheduled during full moons, so that after the end of protracted discussions it would be easier for pundits to get home through the dark, unlit city streets. Therefore, the society was called "Lunar".
Joseph Priestley was actively involved in political life. In his publications and pamphlets, he defended the ideas of religious tolerance, opposed British colonial rule in North America. He enthusiastically welcomed the Great French Revolution in 1789 and was a member of the Society of Friends of the Revolution. However, in England, the events in revolutionary France were perceived rather hostilely.
The storming of the Bastille in Paris was the impetus for a broad wave of reaction in England. For Joseph Priestley, it took the form of open bullying. He was forced to stop his spiritual missionary work and resume work in chemistry. On July 14, 1791, when Priestley and his associates gathered at his house to celebrate the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille, a crowd of angry people attacked his house, ransacked the entire laboratory and set fire to this "unclean place." Priestley's house, his laboratory and library, including all his books and manuscripts, were completely burned down. Priestley himself barely escaped the rioters through the back porch of the house. During these pogroms in Birmingham, along with Priestley's house, the houses of many other supporters of the French Revolution, as well as the buildings of reformed churches, were destroyed.
Joseph Priestley and his family managed to escape from Birmingham to London. The compensation issued by the government for damages from the Birmingham pogrom did not cover his expenses. He was greatly assisted by the French government, and he even took French citizenship. Priestley tried to settle on the outskirts of London and organize a new laboratory for himself. He even started serving as a priest again. But his sympathies for the French Revolution made him an enemy of the royal government. And if from France he received an invitation with a promise to set up a laboratory for him in Paris and was awarded the title of citoyen de la Republique, then in England he was threatened with trial and execution as a traitor.
In 1793, he defiantly withdrew from the Royal Society of London when he learned that it rejected candidates for membership of the society on political grounds. He thought for a long time about emigrating to America, since his sons had already left there in August 1793. On March 30, 1794, he resigned his duties as a priest, delivering a farewell sermon, and sailed for New York, disembarking on the American coast on June 4 .
In the United States, Priestley was initially received with honor. He was invited to New York; offered a professorship in Philadelphia. But subsequently, with the organization of the college for Priestley, nothing happened, as the Philadelphians were suspicious of his unitary views. He tried several times to preach there, but stuttering and poor diction due to lack of teeth did not contribute to the success of his speeches. As a result, he settled on a farm in Northumberland (Pennsylvania), lived here alone for about ten years, and died on February 6, 1804, at the age of 71. His wife and one of his sons died before him. He never took American citizenship.
Monument to Joseph Priestley.
Bibliography.
Fulton, John F. and Charlotte H. Peters, Works of Joseph Priestley, 1733-1804. Preliminary Short Title List(New Haven, Connecticut, 1937).
Stephens, John Joseph Priestley: A Bibliography(forthcoming). An analytical account of all lifetime editions with extracts from correspondence.
Priestley's Writings on Philosophy, Science and Politics, ed. with an Introduction by John A. Passmore (Collier Classics in the History of Thought, 1965).
The Theological and Miscellaneous Works of Joseph Priestley, ed. J.T. Rutt, 25 vols (1817-24). Volume one includes Priestley’s autobiography and edited selections from letters principally to Theophilus Lindsey and Thomas Belsham (the originals are in Dr Williams’ Library, London).
Scientific Correspondence…, ed. Henry Carrington Bolton (New York, 1892). Includes letters to Wedgwood, Banks, Watt, etc.
A Scientific Autobiography … Selected Scientific Correspondence ed. with commentary by Robert E. Schofield (Cambridge, Mass., 1966).
An Appeal to the Serious and Candid Professors of Christianity (1770).
The History and Present State of Discoveries Relating to Vision, Light, and Colors (1772).
An Examination of Dr. Reid's Inquiry into the Human Mind, Dr. Beattie's Essay on the Nature and Immutability of Truth, and Dr. Oswald's Appeal to Common Sense (1774).
Hartley's Theory of the Human Mind on the Principle of Association of Ideas (1775; repr. with an Introduction by Thom Verhave, New York, 1973).
Disquisitions relating to Matter and Spirit (1777).
The Doctrine of Philosophical Necessity Illustrated (1777; 2nd edn, 1783).
The Doctrine of Divine Influence (1779).
About Joseph Priestley on the Internet.
The scientist was in high demand in those days and always had career offers, a person with many talents was brilliant in everything. Joseph Priestley served as a priest of an unorthodox church, but, in addition to his main job, the scientist had many other hobbies, which eventually became all historical achievements. For example, carbonated drinks, and he also discovered many gases, and the most famous of them are ammonia, carbon dioxide, oxygen. The scientist has achieved success in such areas of science as pedagogy, chemistry, political theory. To all this, he was a theologian, an excellent husband and father. But Joseph Priestley did not stop there either, 150 brilliant works were written by his hand on various topics, from English grammar to electricity.
Career twists and turns of Joseph Priestley
In 1772, this remarkable man was faced with a very banal, but at the same time the most topical issue- money. He thought, like any breadwinner, about the well-being of his family, which, in fact, every man worries about. The priest's salary was about 100 pounds a year, which was not particularly enough to ensure the future of the children, and the scientist had 8 of them. While looking for options for more money, his acquaintances brought him to the Earl of Shelburne. The Count had recently been widowed and was looking for someone to help educate his children and also appear for himself. interesting interlocutor for intellectual conversations. The interests of Shelburne and Priestley coincided in many ways.
The career offer was that Joseph Priestley was to move in with Lord Shelburne as a home tutor and consultant. The payment per year was 250 pounds, which is 2 times more than the theologian's earnings. It seemed like a lucrative offer, but Priestley was unhappy, especially with the fee. The scientist was very attentive to what he signs. To weigh all the pros and cons, the scientist wrote to several friends with a request to analyze the situation in detail and write down all the "+" and "-". Among the friends who received the letters was Benjamin Franklin himself.
Solution selection
Letters played important role in the choice, thanks to the answers of his friends, the scientist was able to weigh everything and make the right decision.
Pros:
- High pay.
- Family safety.
Minuses:
- Relocation required.
- Relationship with Shelbourne.
- Distraction from the main work.
- No time for hobbies.
Joseph Priestley was worried that his work might require moving and thus parting with his family, which the scientist could not allow in any way, he repeatedly expressed that he was “happy at home.” He was also worried about interpersonal relationships with Shelburne, Priestley was afraid to annoy the lord. And the biggest fear was that the scientist would not have time for scientific work, and he would be completely busy teaching children.
Search for alternatives
Given the comparison of the lists, the answer should not be in the direction of the lord, but Joseph Priestley found an alternative, how to get around all the disadvantages and bring conditions closer to maximum comfort. The scientist removed the limited choice and stopped wondering whether he should agree to this work, the problem disappeared by itself. Instead, he started looking alternative ways increase your financial well-being. One of the options for such income was a lecture tour with scientific works. Priestley was not afraid to dictate his rules to the lord (at that time it was not welcome to contradict the aristocracy, and usually everyone agreed to all proposals) and requested that a permanent teacher teach the children, who, in turn, would come to London only when Shelburne was .
One of the letters Priestley sent to his friends came back with a negative response. The recipient claimed that this would humiliate the scientist and that he deserved a nobler job. The nobleman explained to his friend that, having initially compared all the answers, he wanted to refuse, but came to a more productive way out of this situation and decided to collect more information about the lord, ask around people who knew the aristocrat. Reviews about Shelburne were quite acceptable, many advised not to refuse the lord, but to proudly accept his offer. People who were unfamiliar with him, but who had life experience, were advised to refuse. In other words, people who belonged to the close circle of the lord reacted favorably to the proposal. This contributed to the fact that the scientist took the proposal more seriously.
Joseph Priestley and Shelbourne
Memorial plaque to Joseph Priestley, the discoverer of oxygen, in Birstall, West YorkshireThe scientist tried not to succumb to fleeting emotions, therefore, in addition to friends, he also asked neutral acquaintances about the offer. Which gave a more informative picture of the situation. A significant role in the final choice was played by 2 most important factors: the well-being of the family and the time for a hobby. He escaped self-confidence. This made it possible to be more objective and not think about whether he might annoy the aristocrat, and what will happen if they do not find common language. But the problem with well-being remained, Priestley was afraid of losing Shelburne's favor and being left without a material basis. The nobleman was able to get a kind of guarantee for himself, the aristocrat had to pay 150 pounds annually until the end of his life (and even after the end of the business relationship).
Tandem Priestley and Shelburne lasted 7 years, it was the most fruitful time in the career of a scientist. During this time, the most famous philosophical works were written and oxygen was discovered. They broke up for unknown reasons, but according to the nobleman, everything was “friendly”. The aristocrat carried out "insurance" and paid 150 pounds every year.
Using the example of Joseph Priestley, one can see that one should not make hasty conclusions and that the best decision can be made only after analyzing the situation and evaluating the information received.
Joseph Priestley is the king of random discoveries.
Joseph Priestley (eng. Joseph Priestley, March 13, 1733 - February 6, 1804) - British priest-dissenter, naturalist, philosopher, public figure. He went down in history primarily as an outstanding chemist who discovered oxygen and carbon dioxide.
Joseph Priestley was one of those thinkers who just happens to stumble upon greatest discoveries.
Priestley was born March 13, 1733, grew up in a family of religious Calvinists. When he studied to become a priest, he realized that his liberal views were not suitable for such a career. Eventually, in 1767, Priestley became the pastor of a small church in Leeds. Priestley had little interest in science, but that all changed when he met the first and only Benjamin Franklin, one of the most prominent scientists of his day, on his way to London in 1766. Franklin awakened Priestley's interest in science and they became lifelong friends. Under the influence of Franklin, Priestley began to conduct amateur research on electricity (Franklin specialized in electricity).
A year after meeting Franklin, Priestley made his first major discovery, he established that graphite could conduct electricity. This certainly does not sound very impressive, however, it is worth remembering that carbon is the main component of modern resistors. That same year, Priestley wrote The History of Electricity.
Now let's remember that Priestley was a pastor in Leeds. He lived near a brewery and was very intrigued by the "air" rising from a wandering bard. Priestley was on the cusp of becoming the greatest chemist of all time.
In the first experiment, he was able to establish that the gas released during fermentation prevents combustion. He also noticed that the highest concentration of gas is observed near the ground, i.e. it is heavier than air. This gas will later be identified as carbon dioxide. He figured out how to produce this gas in his laboratory. When the heavy gas (as he called it) was dissolved in water, he found that the water took on a very pleasant and pungent taste. For the discovery of soda, he was admitted to the French Academy of Sciences in 1772 and received a medal from the Royal Society in 1773.
He invented carbonated drinks! In my opinion, this is enough to call him a genius.
In 1772, Priestley made another important discovery. He placed the shoot of a green plant in a special container, then placed a lit candle in it and sealed the container. The candle burned out completely. Later, Priestley planted a mouse in a similar structure and she remained alive after the candle burned out. Those. He was the first to prove that green plants take carbon dioxide from the air and give off oxygen.
Priestley continued to experiment with gases. He created a device to concentrate gases over mercury. In fact, mercury at room temperature is a liquid with a high density. Therefore, mercury will not absorb gases as easily as water. Priestley placed various substances on the surface of mercury and sealed the glass vessel in which this mixture was located. Further, with the help of a lens, he heated substances on mercury.
In one of the first experiments using this device (in 1772), a new gas was obtained - nitrous oxide. The interesting effect it had on people was soon discovered, so we owe it to Priestley for the discovery of laughing gas. Later, nitrous oxide became the first anesthetic used in surgical operations. By the way, is it convenient to operate when the patient is constantly laughing?
In 1774, Priestley placed mercury oxide in this chamber for experiments. When he conducted experiments with the resulting gas, he saw that the candle flared up in it more strongly, while all the gases he had received previously prevented combustion. Priestley discovered what would later be called oxygen.
Later, while observing green plants that grew on the walls of glass vessels, Priestley found that when placed on sunlight they emit a gas similar to that which was obtained in experiments with mercury oxide. This is how Priestley documented the process of photosynthesis.
Priestley told the French chemist Antoine Lavoisier about his discovery. Lavoisier repeated his experiments and later, on their basis, proved the incorrectness of the phlogiston theory, which stated that combustion is a process of releasing certain particles - phlogistons, with its help at that time they explained the nature of combustion. Lavoisier named the gas oxygen. Further, Lavoisier generalized his discoveries into the famous Law of the Conservation of Matter, which states that matter is not destroyed or created, but passes from one form to another.
So, let's sum up. Priestley discovered that graphite is a conductor of electricity; isolated and determined the properties of nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide and oxygen; invented soda; determined that gases are involved in plant metabolism (this is the beginning of biochemistry) and for the first time investigated the effect of photosynthesis.
This list of achievements guarantees anyone a place in history, but Priestley didn't stop there. He was also the first to isolate and describe the properties of sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, ammonia and carbon monoxide. Add to the list the decomposition of ammonia by electricity in 1781. On April 15, 1770, he made a discovery that is one of the most useful for ordinary person. It turned out that with the help of rubber it is possible to erase marks made with a lead pencil. In addition, he gave the material its everyday (English) name - rubber (rubber).
Nonconformist religious and Political Views The Priestleys eventually got him into trouble. His book A History of the Decay of Christianity (1782) was burned by order of the authorities in 1785. Due to his support of the French and American revolutionaries, his house in Birmingham and the church were burned by an angry mob in 1791. He moved to London, but the persecution continued. Finally, in 1794, Priestley and his family immigrated to the United States. There he settled in Northumberland, Pennsylvania and returned to a quiet life and his work. Joseph Priestley died at his home on February 6, 1804.
Many people of science understand that Priestley was not a real scientist - he was an amateur. Often he did not understand the importance of his own discoveries. Now we can say that his achievements formed the basis of the research of almost all scientists who came after him. And he did all this without a formal scientific education. Maybe that was his advantage?
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