Historedia
Person

Joseph Priestley

Events
4
Episodes
11
Years
1770–1791

Every event in Historedia whose sources name Joseph Priestley, with the role they cite and all of that event’s episodes. This is not a biography, and mentions are grouped by name, so two people with the same name can share this page.

Events and episodes

  1. Joseph Priestley's invention of the rubber eraser

    1770

    Role: Scientist and author who described the eraser material

    1. 1770 · UnspecifiedNairne's Marketing

      Edward Nairne reportedly developed and marketed the first widely used rubber eraser in 1770.

    2. 15 April 1770 · UnspecifiedFootnote Description

      Priestley described a substance for removing pencil marks in a footnote dated April 15, 1770.

  2. Discovery of Oxygen by Joseph Priestley

    1771–1775

    Role: English chemist and discoverer of oxygen

    1. 1771–1772 · Uppsala, SwedenScheele's Prior Production

      Scheele produces oxygen by heating mercuric oxide and nitrates before Priestley.

    2. 1 August 1774 · Wiltshire, EnglandIsolation of Dephlogisticated Air

      Priestley isolates oxygen from mercuric oxide using sunlight in Wiltshire.

    3. 1775 · UnknownPublication of Findings

      Priestley publishes his discovery in 1775, establishing his priority over Scheele.

  3. Discovery of Sulfur Dioxide by Joseph Priestley

    1775

    Role: English chemist and discoverer

    1. 1775 · Calne, WiltshireDiscovery of Sulfur Dioxide

      Joseph Priestley identified sulfur dioxide as a distinct gas during his experimental work in the mid-1770s.

  4. Priestley Riots in Birmingham

    1787–1791

    Role: Primary target of the riots; scientist, clergyman, and radical who later published An Appeal to the Public on the Subject of the Birmingham Riots (1791)

    1. 1787–1790 · BirminghamDissenter agitation for repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts

      Birmingham Dissenters' campaigns to repeal the Test and Corporation Acts, failing in 1787, 1789, and 1790, fractured the town elite before the riots.

    2. Summer 1791 · BirminghamPlanned Warwickshire Constitutional Society

      In summer 1791, Priestley and friends planned a radical Warwickshire Constitutional Society seeking electoral reform, matching societies in Chester and Manchester.

    3. 14 July 1791 · Royal Hotel, BirminghamAttack on the Royal Hotel banquet

      The riots began with an attack on the Royal Hotel, site of a banquet publicising diners' support for the French Revolutionaries to enhance Anglo-French trade.

    4. 14–17 July 1791 · Birmingham, Warwickshire, EnglandThree days of rioting against Dissenters

      From 14 to 17 July 1791, rioters targeted Birmingham's religious dissenters, most notably Joseph Priestley, amid local and national grievances.

    5. 14–17 July 1791 · BirminghamGovernment response to Dissenters' pleas

      The riots were not initiated by Prime Minister William Pitt's administration, but the national government has been suggested to have been slow to respond to Dissenters' pleas for help.

Sources

  1. Eraser Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-24
  2. Joseph Priestley Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-16
  3. Priestley Riots Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-14