ABOUT FACTS NET People

Free File Viewers For Movies, Photos, Audio. PDF

Viewer Info

 

Sometimes someone comes along that is ridiculed by everyone else. He is thought of as a fraud, a fool or just plain stupid. This is a fate that none of us want to suffer, but imagine how you would feel if you were truly smarter than all or most of the people calling you names and laughing at you. This was the situation that Joseph Priestley found himself in. You see, Priestley was one of the greatest scientists we have ever had, but since he didn't have a science education, he was the laughing stock of his time. Most of the other scientists used him as the butt of their jokes, but he had the last laugh.

He was born in England in 1733. He was the son of a humble tailor. He even had to drop out of grammar school because of ill health. Can you imagine this, no wonder the other scientists had so much contempt for him. But he wasn't uneducated. Teachers from the area would come over and teach him and he was a brilliant student. He excelled in his studies and even learned several different languages. He became proficient in mathematics and physics. He also studied philosophy with great interest. No one can say for sure, but he might have been better educated than his peers, but he never studied science so becoming a scientist without this prerequisite seemed impossible.

Priestley decided to become a man of God and became a Presbyterian minister in 1755. He didn't stop at this however and he decided to open a school. He taught anatomy and astronomy. One of his favorite things was science because he felt that science was the key to improving the life of people. How he came to this conclusion we may never know, he could have just as easily decided that the correct philosophical beliefs were more important. Not everyone thought that he was a fool however. He did have some note worthy friends such as Benjamin Franklin.

One of Priestley's famous discoveries he called dephiogisticated air, you would know it better as oxygen. Before he decided to try his hand at chemistry, he had experimented extensively with electricity as did many of the scientists of his day. After all, this was a little understood force that seemed to possess amazing qualities that fascinated scientists. You have probably used one of his discoveries many times in your life already. He was the guy that discovered carbonated water, also know as soda. Think about him the next time you drink that bottle of pop. If it wasn't for Priestley that pop might just be flavored water. He went on to discover eight different types of gases.

While investigating gases he also discovered sulfur dioxide and ammonia.

Priestley was not only unpopular with his fellow scientists but many rich and powerful people disliked him because of his political views. He supported the French revolution and this caused him to be so unpopular in England that a mob burned his home. He also published the book, 'Corruptions of Christianity' in 1782. The book outraged the government, the state religious and many others. Why was this book so unpopular? Because it taught that Jesus was only a man and not God. Priestley was no stranger to unpopular literature. He had also written 'Essay on the First Principles of Government' and 'The Present State of Liberty in Great Britain and her Colonies' and lastly, 'Remarks on Dr. Blackstone's Commentaries' where he agreed with dissenters to the government. Priestley wrote over 150 books. Today Priestley would have been classified as a Liberal. Fearing for his life and looking for more freedom for his views, he moved to America in 1794. To be exact, he move to Pennsylvania.

He believed that there were black holes existing in space, something that didn't become popular until after Einstein, how he reached this unlikely, but correct conclusion would be very interesting to know.

Priestley died in 1804.