John Kudrysch History of Chemistry
Help Received: Jaffe Book
Starting off as primarily a minister, Priestley had proven himself to be more than a man of God by the time of his death. He was a revolutionary in the establishment of many current uses and realizations of important compounds and elements. His fame was well known all around Europe, England in particular, because of his incredible contributions. Eventually he became tired of being chased around and hassled in England, and decided to move to the New World. Upon landing in New York he found out his fame was well known even to the New World. He arrived like a champion returning from battle, a hero (1). The first of his contributions to modern chemistry is the mixture of carbon dioxide and water in order to create carbonated beverages (1). Merely a minister at the time he managed to introduce a revolutionary concept for the food industry that will probably be used until the end of history. His discovery of ammonium chloride, now used in dry batteries, was also contributed to Priestley’s efforts and experimentation (1). The list goes on, but without a doubt the most important discovery of Priestley was how important oxygen is to living and breathing organisms. Through experimentation with mice and enclosed space he found out that oxygen is the vital element in the air that keeps creatures alive, not the entirety of air itself (1). This discovery shook the world as this man introduced a luxury that was not around before his time. Isolated oxygen was now proven to be the source of life, and in today’s world the utilization of oxygen is constant. People that have trouble breathing, like pneumonia patients or firefighters, rely on oxygen to live at times if their lungs cannot get enough air to flow through it (1). This vital element, being introduced to the world for the first time as a “life bringer,” has been spot-lighted solely because of Priestley. Until the end of time his work and efforts for modern chemistry will always be cherished.
- Jaffe. Crucibles: The Story of Chemistry, Dover Publications Inc, New York, USA, (1976) pp. 37-54.