Warrington, England/warrington630
Previous | Home | NextAt Warrington he was able to acquire more scientific equipment, and recognizing the current popularity of electricity, he decided to write a book on it. With an intuitive sense of how to accomplish things, he journeyed to London and with his charm and wit befriended Benjamin Franklin and others at the Royal Society (Franklin lived in England until 1775, when political tensions caused him to return to the Colonies). Priestley persuaded the Royal Society to furnish him with books, academy apparatus, and advice on how to proceed with his project. Returning to Warrington, he built new equipment that he needed to reproduce old experiments and fashion new ones. In less than a year he had completed The History and Present State of Electricity. Impressed, the Royal Society elected him a Fellow (1766). Now Priestley had his full credentials -- he could sign his name "Dr. Joseph Priestley, LL.D., F.R.S" (Doctor of Laws, Fellow of the Royal Society).
