IT seems strange now to think that oxygen required discovery, so perhaps 'identifying' or 'isolating' would sit better. Whichever, I suspect that those who have experienced intense pain relieved by gas and air or the panic of gasping for breath calmed by an oxygen mask are immensely grateful to Dr Joseph Priestley (1733-1804).
For seven years, Priestley was employed by William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne (17371805), as his librarian, which gave a way for the Earl to support Priestley's scientific work. Lord Shelburne, who became the Marquess of Lansdowne after serving as Prime Minister and securing peace with America, surrounded himself with a group of intellectuals passionate about political and economic reform, science, philosophy and non-conformist religion. They were called the Bowood Circlefor Bowood House, the Earl's Wiltshire seat -and included Benjamin Franklin, scientist, politician and one of the Founding Fathers of the US; André Morellet, a French economist and writer; the philosopher Jeremy Bentham, who is regarded as the founder of modern utilitarianism, based on his principle that 'it is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong'; Étienne Clavière, financier and politician of the French Revolution; and Dr Richard Price, a non-conformist minister and mathematician, who encouraged Lord Shelburne to patronise Priestley.
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Denne historien er fra May 15, 2024-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Happiness in small things
Putting life into perspective and forces of nature in farming
Colour vision
In an eye-baffling arrangement of geometric shapes, a sinister-looking clown and a little girl, Test Card F is one of television’s most enduring images, says Rob Crossan
'Without fever there is no creation'
Three of the top 10 operas performed worldwide are by the emotionally volatile Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, who died a century ago. Henrietta Bredin explains how his colourful life influenced his melodramatic plot lines
The colour revolution
Toxic, dull or fast-fading pigments had long made it tricky for artists to paint verdant scenes, but the 19th century ushered in a viridescent explosion of waterlili
Bullace for you
The distinction between plums, damsons and bullaces is sweetly subtle, boiling down to flavour and aesthetics, but don’t eat the stones, warns John Wright
Lights, camera, action!
Three remarkable country houses, two of which have links to the film industry, the other the setting for a top-class croquet tournament, are anything but ordinary
I was on fire for you, where did you go?
In Iceland, a land with no monks or monkeys, our correspondent attempts to master the art of fishing light’ for Salmo salar, by stroking the creases and dimples of the Midfjardara river like the features of a loved one
Bravery bevond belief
A teenager on his gap year who saved a boy and his father from being savaged by a crocodile is one of a host of heroic acts celebrated in a book to mark the 250th anniversary of the Royal Humane Society, says its author Rupert Uloth
Let's get to the bottom of this
Discovering a well on your property can be viewed as a blessing or a curse, but all's well that ends well, says Deborah Nicholls-Lee, as she examines the benefits of a personal water supply
Sing on, sweet bird
An essential component of our emotional relationship with the landscape, the mellifluous song of a thrush shapes the very foundation of human happiness, notes Mark Cocker, as he takes a closer look at this diverse family of birds
