Joseph Priestley

Polymath who discovered oxygen and pioneered electrical science while advocating radical political reforms

Joseph Priestley (1733-1804) reshaped multiple scientific fields while fighting for religious freedom and American independence. His 1774 oxygen discovery overturned phlogiston theory, though he initially called it 'dephlogisticated air'.

As a dissenting minister, Priestley supported the French Revolution, causing mobs to burn his Birmingham home. He corresponded with Franklin and Jefferson, influencing early US constitutional principles. His Experiments and Observations on Different Kinds of Air (1774-1786) laid foundations for modern chemistry.

Priestley's electrical experiments revealed graphite's conductivity. He invented soda water while studying gas solubility. The Priestley Medal, chemistry's highest US honor, commemorates his legacy. Despite Royal Society recognition, his radical theology kept him from academic posts, exemplifying Enlightenment-era clashes between science and orthodoxy.