Joseph Priestley House
Northumberland, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Home, 1794-1804, of the noted English scientist. Administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
From 1794 to 1804 this house on the Susquehanna was home to Joseph Priestley, the English clergyman and chemist celebrated for isolating oxygen and other gases. A political and religious radical, Priestley fled England after mobs burned his home for his sympathies with the American and French revolutions, and he rebuilt his life and laboratory in the new republic. Here in Northumberland he continued his experiments and helped seed a scientific tradition in his adopted country.
Why it matters
Priestley's flight to Pennsylvania made the young United States a refuge for free thought and cutting-edge science, embodying the promise that drew Europe's dissenters to American shores.
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Related people
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Themes & tags
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