1773 ⟶ Scheele and Priestley Independently Isolate Oxygen

Carl Wilhelm Scheele and Joseph Priestley independently isol...
Timelines Logo
Year
1605
1754
1771
1773
1778

🌬️ Michal Sedziwój Proposes 'Food of Life' (Oxygen)

Michal Sedziwój publishes the alchemical treatise A New Light of Alchemy which proposed the existence of the "food of life" within air, much later recognized as oxygen.⟶
Michal Sedziwój Proposes 'Food of Life' (Oxygen) (1605)
AlchemyChemistryOxygenPneumatic ChemistryEarly Modern PeriodSedziwojGasesChemical Substances
PolandPoland

🧪 Joseph Black Isolates Carbon Dioxide

Joseph Black isolates carbon dioxide, which he called "fixed air".⟶
Joseph Black Isolates Carbon Dioxide (1754)
ChemistryGasesCarbon DioxideJoseph Black18th CenturyScientific RevolutionFixed Air
United KingdomUnited Kingdom

🌿 Joseph Priestley Demonstrates Plant Oxygen Production

Joseph Priestley demonstrated that plants produce a gas that animals and flames consume. This gas was oxygen.⟶
Joseph Priestley Demonstrates Plant Oxygen Production (1771)
BiologyPhotosynthesisOxygenJoseph Priestley18th CenturyRespirationBotany
United KingdomUnited Kingdom

💨 Scheele and Priestley Independently Isolate Oxygen

Carl Wilhelm Scheele and Joseph Priestley independently isolate oxygen, called by Priestley "dephlogisticated air" and Scheele "fire air".⟶
Scheele and Priestley Independently Isolate Oxygen (1773)
ChemistryOxygenCarl Wilhelm ScheeleJoseph PriestleyGases18th CenturyPhlogiston Theory
SwedenSwedenUnited KingdomUnited Kingdom

💨 Antoine Lavoisier Names and Recognizes Oxygen's Role

Antoine Lavoisier, considered "The father of modern chemistry", recognizes and names oxygen, and recognizes its importance and role in combustion.⟶
Antoine Lavoisier Names and Recognizes Oxygen's Role (1778)
ChemistryOxygenAntoine LavoisierCombustion18th CenturyModern ChemistryPhlogiston Theory
FranceFrance