Asher K. Sisneros
Thomas E. Woods, Jr.
Western Civilization Since 1493
October 14, 2024
Joseph Priestley (1733-1804) was a theologian and natural philosopher during the 18th century. He even taught as a minister after abdicting from Calvinism because of his theologically liberal views. But upon meeting Benjamin Franklin, he became enamored by science and made influential discoveries in the field of chemistry.
First, he invented soda water by dissolving carbon dioxide inside of water. Today, soda is a common commodity in virtually every part of the world. But it would not exist without Joseph Priestley.
While he did that and even created the first eraser out of rubber and discovered photosynthesis in plants, his most influential discovery was the discovery of oxygen. The Greeks believed in four substances: earth, water, fire, and air. The theory was that these four substances were the building blocks of everything else in the universe, with mankind being a composite of Earth. The Greek Democritus is considered the father of atomic theory, the theory that atoms are these tiny indivisible elements that compound together to form all matter. In an experiment in which he burned mercury with a candle stick inside of a glass container, Priestley wound up discovering oxygen, which he called “dephlogisticated air.” He was also shocked to discover that mice could breathe it without side effects. His colleague and correspondent Lasovier replicated his experiment and gave this “dephlogisticated air” a new name: oxygen.
Asher Sisneros 