358 
Teachers  of  Chemistry  in  America. 
/  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
X      August,  1904. 
on  the  matter  with  Dr.  Rush,  Priestley  declined  the  offer,  preferring 
to  end  his  remaining  days  quietly  in  his  retreat  on  the  shores  of  the 
Susquehanna. 
The  arrival  of  Priestley  in  America  marks  a  new  era  in  the  history 
of  the  development  of  chemistry  and  chemical  teaching  in  this 
country.  Priestley,  despite  the  fact  that  he  had,  at  that  time,  made 
numerous  original  discoveries,  and  among  other  substances  had  dis- 
covered oxygen,  was  a  staunch  adherent  of  the  theory  of  phlogiston, 
and  despite  his  age  he  entered  actively  into  the  controversy  that 
wis  then  waging  between  the  followers  of  the  two  schools. 
Opposing  him  in  this  country  were  three  men  that  deserve  more 
Dr.  James  Hutchinson 
(I752-I793)- 
Dr  Samuel  Latham  Mitchii^l 
(1764-1831). 
than  passing  mention.  The  first  of  these,  and  the  first  to  teach  the 
principles  of  the  Lavoisierian  or  antiphlogistic  school  of  chemistry 
in  America,  was  Dr.  Samuel  Latham  Mitchill,  who  was  elected  pro- 
fessor of  chemistry  and  natural  history  in  Columbia  College  in  1792. 
Dr.  Mitchill  was  a  man  of  considerable  learning  and  of  varied 
attainments ;  he  was  keenly  alive  to  and  fully  appreciated  the  value 
of  practical  experience  and  original  research,  and,  despite  the  fact 
that  he  was  among  the  most  persistent  and  aggressive  of  the  oppo- 
nents of  Priestley,  was  also  generally  considered  to  be  one  of  his 
staunchest  friends.  By  far  the  greater  number  of  the  contributions 
relating  to  the  controversy,  on  chemical  philosophy,  were  published 
