# 1685 FDC - 1976 13c Chemistry Centenary
Birth Of Joseph Priestley
Priestley was born into a relatively successful family that made wool cloth. He attended the Dissenting Academy. While there, he renounced Calvinism and adopted Unitarianism, which rejected the Trinity and believed in the perfectibility of man.
Priestley served as a minister for six years and then in 1761, became a tutor in languages and literature at the Warrington Academy in Lancashire. Priestley had always had an interest in science, but it grew greatly after he met Benjamin Franklin in 1765. Franklin encouraged him to publish The History and Present State of Electricity, with Original Experiments in 1767. In that book, Priestley stated that progress in science was more dependent on new facts than theories posed by a few brilliant men. He put these views into practice for his experiments with the inverse square law of electrical attraction, his discovery that charcoal conducts electricity, and in the relationship between electricity and chemical change. This work led him to be elected a member of the Royal Society.
In 1780, Priestley moved to Birmingham where he worked and preached at the New Meeting House. He also joined the Lunar Society, which sought to use science and technology to improve modern life. To this end, Priestley designed a machine to produce carbonated water to treat people with scurvy and fevers. While it didn’t treat those issues, it was later put to use in the soda industry.
Priestley and his family settled in Pennsylvania. He was offered the position of chemistry professor at the University of Pennsylvania but turned it down. Priestley delivered a number of sermons that led to the founding of the First Unitarian Church of Pennsylvania.
Priestley’s health declined significantly in 1801, so that he could no longer work. He died on February 6, 1804.
Birth Of Joseph Priestley
Priestley was born into a relatively successful family that made wool cloth. He attended the Dissenting Academy. While there, he renounced Calvinism and adopted Unitarianism, which rejected the Trinity and believed in the perfectibility of man.
Priestley served as a minister for six years and then in 1761, became a tutor in languages and literature at the Warrington Academy in Lancashire. Priestley had always had an interest in science, but it grew greatly after he met Benjamin Franklin in 1765. Franklin encouraged him to publish The History and Present State of Electricity, with Original Experiments in 1767. In that book, Priestley stated that progress in science was more dependent on new facts than theories posed by a few brilliant men. He put these views into practice for his experiments with the inverse square law of electrical attraction, his discovery that charcoal conducts electricity, and in the relationship between electricity and chemical change. This work led him to be elected a member of the Royal Society.
In 1780, Priestley moved to Birmingham where he worked and preached at the New Meeting House. He also joined the Lunar Society, which sought to use science and technology to improve modern life. To this end, Priestley designed a machine to produce carbonated water to treat people with scurvy and fevers. While it didn’t treat those issues, it was later put to use in the soda industry.
Priestley and his family settled in Pennsylvania. He was offered the position of chemistry professor at the University of Pennsylvania but turned it down. Priestley delivered a number of sermons that led to the founding of the First Unitarian Church of Pennsylvania.
Priestley’s health declined significantly in 1801, so that he could no longer work. He died on February 6, 1804.