Even the most casual observer has heard of Doctor Joseph Priestley, who is known as the discoverer of oxygen. Dr. Priestley was a controversial figure in his native England and in America, where he spent the last ten years of his life in Northumberland, Pennsylvania.

Born in England on March 24, 1733, Priestley died on February 6^th, 1804. The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission operates his home. It is also recognized as both a National Historic Landmark and the National Historic Chemical Landmark. The home’s website  Home - The Joseph Priestley House, notes “Few know he was a noted theologian, political progressive, and prolific author whose scientific contributions include the development of the modern timeline, the carbonation process, the identification of carbon monoxide and other gases, early experiments in electricity and an early understanding of the inter-relationship of plants and animals mediated by gases: oxygen and carbon dioxide and the role of sunlight in photosynthesis.

His home in Birmingham, England was burned to the ground during a 1791 riot, forcing his family to flee to London, and then to America in 1794. Priestley's son Joseph Priestley Jr. was a leading member of a consortium that had purchased 300,000 acres of virgin woodland between the forks of Loyalsock Creek. [1]

His contemporaries and friends included Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson along with chemist and inventor James Watt. Priestley was the founder of the first Unitarian Church in America.

He and his wife Mary Wilkinson Priestley are buried at Riverview Cemetery, in Northumberland Pennsylvania. His epitaph reads:

RETURN UNTO THY REST, OH MY SOUL,

FOR THE LORD HAS DEALT BOUNTIFULLY WITH THEE

I WILL LAY ME DOWN IN PEACE AND SLEEP,

TILL I WAKE IN THE MORNING OF THE RESURRECTION.

Information on tours of the Priestley home and laboratory are available through the Priestley House website.