Priestley, Joseph, 1766 or 1767-1852

Joseph Priestley (1733-1804) was born at Fieldhead, Yorkshire, on 13 March 1733. He was educated at Batley Grammar School and at Heckmondwike, before entering Daventry Academy in 1751 to study for the presbyterian ministry. He became Minister at Nantwich, Cheshire, in 1758, and in 1761 was appointed Tutor in Languages and Belles-Lettres at Warrington Academy. He became Minister at Mill Hill Chapel, Leeds, in 1767. Between 1772 and 1780 Priestley was the Librarian of the Earl of Shelburne. Thereafter, he was elected Junior Minister of the New Meeting, Birmingham, in 1780, and became the Morning Preacher at Gravel Pit, Hackney, in 1791. He emigrated to New York in 1794, and settled in Northumberland, Pennsylvania, where he died on 6 February 1804. Priestley was a noted man of science, particularly in the field of chemistry, and carried out important work on oxygen.

From the guide to the Joseph Priestley: Sermon, c. 1771, (Cambridge University Library, Department of Manuscripts and University Archives)

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