Scientists

Joseph Priestley

Joseph Priestly
This entry is part [part not set] of 3 in the series Age of Reason and Enlightenment

Joseph Priestley radical dissenter and champion for the open and inquiring mind. Joseph Priestly was quite possibly one of the most important thinkers of the Enlightenment. His direct and open inquiry into both religious beliefs and ideas was also directed at science, politics and society. Who was Joseph Priestley? He was born on the 13th…

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Laura Bassi Scientist

Laura Bassi

Laura Bassi was born in Bologna in 1711, the same year as St Paul’s Cathedral in London was completed. Laura Maria Caterina Bassi was a brilliant and erudite young woman, born into a heady atmosphere of early 18th century Bologna, a melting pot of ideas and fusion of like minded scholars, caught in the bosom…

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C17th Human Dissection and Resurectionists

The enlightenment period of the C17th brought with it a new approach to science based on observation and experimentation and with that came the practice of human dissection in open observation anatomical theatres.

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The Use of Antiseptics in Operating Theatres

The problem of infection in operating theatres had been known about from the end of the C18th through the C19th. More people were dying from infections acquired in the operating theatre than were dying of their ailments. Florence Nightingale highlighted the need for a rigorous approach to hospital hygiene and Lister’s work with carbolic, changed…

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