Joseph Priestley the discoverer of oxygen

Joseph Priestley was an 18th century theologian, natural philosopher, chemist etc, who discovered oxygen. He was in Birmingham from 1780 to 1791, when he had to leave due to the Priestley Riots.

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Joseph Priestley statue in Chamberlain Square

Priestley was born in 1733 and died in 1804. He was based in Birmingham from 1780 to 1791. While there he made friends with the Lunar Society including Matthew Boulton. He was the minister of New Meeting which was located close to what is Moor Street Queensway and New Meeting Street.

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The statue that used to be in Chamberlain Square until 2016 was by Francis John Williamson and was made in 1874.

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Maquette of Priestley in the Birmingham Museums Collection Centre

Williamson probably made this maquette before making the full sized statue.

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Saint Michael's Catholic Church built on the site of Priestley's New Meeting

In 1791 riots erupted in Birmingham, known now as the Priestley Riots. On the 2nd anniversary of the Storming of the Bastille that started the French Revolution in France. Rioters attacked Priestley's families home at Fairhill in Sparkbrook. They also burnt down the New Meeting Chapel followed by the Old Meeting Chapel.

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Today Saint Michael's Catholic Church stands on the site and there is a blue plaque on New Meeting Street about Priestley. It is now a Polish church.

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Photography and article by Elliott Brown.

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