Commemorating Joseph Priestley’s Discovery of Oxygen

Posted by on Mar 29, 2024 in | Comments Off on Commemorating Joseph Priestley’s Discovery of Oxygen A theologian, educator, political theorist and scientist, Dr. Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) was a man of the Enlightenment. “By the age of 61,” Steven Johnson wrote in The Invention of Air, “Priestley had won the Copley Medal (the Nobel Prize of its day) for his experiments on various gases in his late thirties . . . published close to 500 books and pamphlets on science,...
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Editor’s Letter

Posted by on Mar 27, 2024 in | Comments Off on Editor’s Letter “A century hence, they will not be here as I see them,” John James Audubon wrote in his journal on December 12, 1826, during a trip to England to raise money for the publication of The Birds of America. Audubon was feeling disconcerted about encroaching human activity in the American wilderness that would destroy nature’s “many brilliant charms,” among which he laments, “The Eagle scarce ever...
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John Nicholson and Land as a Lure in the Infant Nation, 1790-1800

Posted by on Nov 30, 2013 in | Comments Off on John Nicholson and Land as a Lure in the Infant Nation, 1790-1800 John Nicholson was an early Pennsylvania land speculator, financier and entrepreneur. He was born in 1757, emigrated from Wales at an early age and died in 1800. While serving as comptroller-general of the state (1782-1794), he was a major factor in helping Pennsylvania achieve financial solvency after the revolutionary war. In this capac­ity, Nicholson created political alliances with those who...
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The New Taste in Pennsylvania

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on The New Taste in Pennsylvania Like the nation itself during the so-called “Federal” period, the arts in Pennsylvania reached a crescendo in their development that had an unexpected unity, a strong purpose, and a national style. Despite great varia­tions in the Germanic and English traditions, Pennsylvania emerged from the revolutionary period reasonably cohesive. City and country perspectives, naive and...
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Northumberland County: The Mother County

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on Northumberland County: The Mother County Although named for the most northern of England’s shires, Northumberland County has been often called by many the “Mother County.” Organized on March 21, 1772, as Pennsylvania’s tenth county, at one time it encom­passed eighteen thousand square miles! The county once extended from the Lehigh to the Allegheny rivers, with the New York border as its north­ern boundary. Its...
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Executive Director’s Message

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on Executive Director’s Message The two hundredth anniver­sary of Joseph Priestley’s arrival in Pennsylvania presents a time to reflect on the life and work of an individual who was truly a unique citizen of our state, nation, and the world. During his lifetime, Priestley was the representative man of the Age of Enlightenment in England and America. His discovery of oxygen in 1774 established his reputation worldwide as...
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Joseph Priestley House

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on Joseph Priestley House Built in 1794 by the preeminent theologian and chemist, the Joseph Priestley House reflects the lifestyle of the noted scientist and discoverer of gases, including oxygen, who lived here until his death. Throughout 1994, the historic house museum will observe the two hundredth anniversary of the arrival of Joseph Priestley (1733-1804) in Pennsylvania with educational programs and commemorative...
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Currents

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on Currents Great Greek Following six years of extensive gallery and storage area renovations, The Univer­sity Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadel­phia, has recently reopened its exhibition space devoted to ancient Greek civilization. This new exhibit, entitled “The Ancient Greek World,” offers visitors a broad overview of the history and culture of ancient Greece and its colonial...
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Presence from the Past: A Gift to the Future Through Historic Preservation

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on Presence from the Past: A Gift to the Future Through Historic Preservation The United States is a nation and a people on the move. It is in an era of mobility and change … The result is a feeling of rootlessness combined with a longing for those land­marks of the past which give us a sense of stability and belonging … If the preservation movement is to be successful, it must go beyond saving bricks and mortar. It must go beyond saving occasional historic...
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Bookshelf

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on Bookshelf Building Little Italy: Philadelphia’s Italians Before Mass Migration by Richard N. Juliani Pennsylvania State Univer­sity Press, 1998 (398 pages, paper, $19.95) The study of ethnicity in Amer­ica has been popular for years. Ethnic groups in cities small and large, in remote villages, and in rural farming areas have been ana­lyzed and researched; in several urban areas institutions devoted...
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