Joseph Priestley discovered oxygen in 1774 by heating "red calx... | Filo

#OnThisDay Joseph Priestley discovered oxygen here at Bowood House! On 1st August 1774, Priestley discovered what he called ‘dephlogisticated air’ after burning the ash left behind from heating mercury. Upon heating the ash, he saw globules of quicksilver forming and a colourless air rising from it. He noted ‘But what surprised me more than I can well express’, he wrote, ‘was that a candle burned in this air with a remarkably vigorous flame’. The more you know! 🧪🔬 | Bowood House & Gardens

What if I told you the man who discovered oxygen never got the credit he deserved? In 1774, Joseph Priestley made a breakthrough that changed science forever. He heated mercuric oxide and discovered a gas that made candles burn brighter and kept mice alive longer. This was oxygen, the element essential to all life. But here's the twist. Priestley's controversial political and religious views made him an outcast in England, forced to flee to America. He died in relative obscurity while Antoine La