Abstract
UNDER the title, “Joseph Priestley and his place in the History of Science”, Sir Philip Hartog delivered a discourse at the Royal Institution on April 24, a reprint of which, with a postscript dealing with some additional points, has been received. Sir Philip traces the main events in Priestley's life, bringing out the fact that he was more than a man of science he was a teacher, theologian, politician, and defender of liberal thought. His scientific work has been variously assessed and perhaps some aspects have tended to have been overshadowed by his discovery of oxygen. Priestley made some important experiments in electricity, and his work on the “History of Electricity” includes, among other matters, a statement that the inverse square law is contained in the experimental fact that there is no electrification inside an electrified metal vessel. This was probably the starting point of Cavendish's better known investigations. Priestley also made experiments on electric discharges, which are now seen to have raised fundamental issues.
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Priestley as a Pioneer. Nature 128, 464 (1931). https://doi.org/10.1038/128464a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/128464a0