Joseph Priestley

Hello! My name is Joseph Priestley. I was born in a town called Birstall in England, a very long time ago on March 13th, 1733. Even when I was a little boy, I was full of questions! I loved to read books and learn about everything I could, from religion to science. I grew up to be a church minister, but my curiosity about the world never stopped.

I loved doing experiments to see how things worked. Around the year 1765, I became good friends with a famous American scientist named Benjamin Franklin. He encouraged my interest in electricity, and I was so excited that in 1767 I even wrote a whole book about it! I also invented something you might think is fun. I figured out how to put fizzy bubbles into water. It was the world’s first soda water!

My most famous discovery happened in 1774. I was using a magnifying glass to heat up a type of red rock inside a glass jar. Suddenly, a special kind of air came out! I noticed that a candle burned much brighter in this new air, which was very interesting. I didn't know it at the time, but I had discovered what you now call oxygen—the very air that we all need to breathe to live!

Back in England, some people didn't like my ideas about fairness and government. Things became difficult, and in 1791, an angry crowd even burned down my house and my laboratory. It was a very sad time. Because of this, in 1794, my family and I sailed across the ocean to start a new life in America. We settled in a town called Northumberland in Pennsylvania, where I built a new home and a new place to do my experiments.

I lived to be 70 years old, spending my last years learning and writing in my new American home. People remember me today as the scientist who discovered oxygen, which was a giant step in understanding our world. And every time you drink a fizzy soda, you can think of my bubbly invention! I hope my story reminds you to always stay curious and ask big questions.