Radical Roots

Joseph Priestley – scientist, political theorist, supporter of the French Revolution, Unitarian minister, and discover of oxygen.

Joseph was born in Birstall, West Yorkshire, the son of a cloth worker.

He became a world-leading scientist and theologian, a founder of Unitarianism in Britain, and a famous support of liberty and freedom.

Because of his political views, a mob burned down his chapel, home and laboratory in the 1791 ‘Priestley Riots’ in Birmingham, forcing him to flee with his family, eventually emigrating to the USA.

Priestley died in 1804 in Pennsylvania.

Find out more about his life and radical ideas here:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Priestley