PRIESTLEY 



TP\UKING the reign of George II. and six years before 

 *~^ the war with Spain, Joseph Priestley was born on 

 13th March 1733, at Fieldhead, a hamlet near Leeds. He 

 was destined to be a remarkable man in more ways than 

 one, whose work will live as long as time endures, and 

 whose moral character was above reproach. 



Priestley's father was a cloth dresser, and his mother 

 a farmer's daughter. The mother dying when Priestley 

 was seven years old, the home, managed by his father's 

 sister, became the meeting-place of numerous dissenting 

 ministers, who helped to mould the character of the boy, 

 for in after life his work became divided between science 

 on the one hand, and theology, metaphysics, and politics 

 on the other. During his schooldays and subsequently 

 he acquired a knowledge of Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Syriac, 

 Chaldean, Arabic, French, Italian, and Dutch ; also 

 logic, metaphysics, mathematics, and natural philosophy. 

 Although not blessed with the best of health, he was 

 always of a cheerful temperament, so much so that he 



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