Joseph Priestley & Priestley Lunar Crater and 5577 Priestley Asteroid – Leeds, UK - Extraterrestrial Locations on Waymarking.com

Joseph Priestley
Joseph Priestley (1733 - 1804) is usually credited with the discovery of oxygen, having isolated it in its gaseous state. Other scientists isolated it around the same time but Priestley was the first to publish his work.

The Ancient Greeks had thought that air was one of four elemental components of creation, the other three being earth, fire and water.

Priestley had always combined an interest in theology and science. To him science was integral to his theology, and he consistently tried to fuse Enlightenment rationalism with Christian beliefs.

In 1767 Priestley moved with his family from Warrington to Leeds and he became Mill Hill Chapel's minister, one of the oldest and most respected Dissenting congregations in England.

When he moved to Leeds, Priestley continued his scientific experiments, aided by a steady supply of carbon dioxide from a neighbouring brewery.

He used the supply of carbon dioxide in many experiments and one of his early successes was the discovery of the method of being able to trap the gas in a liquid. This carbonated water led to the foundation of the soft drink industry.

In 1774 he finally discovered a way of extracting oxygen from air. He actually called it “dephlogisticated air" but the name given by French chemist Antoine Lavoisier, Oxygen, is the one we use today. The above details were extracted from http://acswebcontent.acs.org/landmarks/landmarks/priestley/comp_air.html

Priestley was eventually forced to flee Leeds, in 1791, due to the controversial nature of his writings and his outspoken support of the French and American Revolutions; first to London, and then to the United States, after a mob burned down his home. Mill Hill chapel is located just across the road from the square and has a blue plaque dedicated to Priestley.

The Statue

This bronze statue is one of four in City Square that were erected to celebrate Leeds becoming a city in 1893. This statute was sculpted by Alfred Drury and was erected in 1903, the date the layout of the new City Square was completed. It was gifted to the city by T. Walter Harding, and shows Joseph Priestley looking through a magnifying glass at a mortar and pestle. He is facing towards Mill Hill Chapel where he used to preach.

The statue stands on granite plinth and is a English Heritage Grade II listed building, reference number 465923. http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-465923-statue-of-joseph-priestley-leeds

T. Walter Harding was the owner of Tower Works and he also paid for the construction of City Square itself.

The layout of the square was changed in the early 2000s and traffic restricted. This and the other three statues were moved to stand near to the old Post Office building that has now been converted to restaurants and apartments. In summer the statues flank dining tables outside the restaurants.

Priestley Lunar Crater
This crater is located in the low southern latitudes of the dark side of the moon and has a diameter of 52 km. The bottom of the crater has a large lava flow within it and there are two small satellite craters. These are designated K and X and have diameters of 35km and 14km respectively. It is the joint 711th largest crater on the moon. (calculated using data at this web site) http://www.fourmilab.ch/earthview/lunarform/cratallp.html)

5577 Priestley Asteroid
5577 Priestley (1986 WQ2) is an inner main-belt asteroid discovered on November 21, 1986 by Duncan Waldron at Siding Spring, Australia. Named for Joseph Priestley (1733-1804), an English clergyman who was the first to publish an account of his discovery in 1774 of the element oxygen.

The number 5577, corresponding to the number of this minor planet, is also the wavelength in angstroms of the main emission line of green auroral light, due to triply-ionized oxygen. http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=5577+Priestley

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Date Logged Log   03/19/2017 fitzydan visited it