Bowood House and Gardens
Bowood House and Gardens

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Did you know that Joseph Priestley discovered oxygen on August 1 1774 at Bowood House near Calne? He worked there as librarian to the Earl of Shelbourne and tutor to his sons, and was provided with a room off the library as a laboratory. He separated oxygen from mercury oxide, using the sun’s rays focused through a magnifying glass to heat the substance and produce what he named dephlogisticated air, which made a candle burn more brightly than in ordinary air.

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On this day:
Edward I Expels Jews from England - 1290, Authority of the pope declared void in England - 1536, British Cops’ 1-2-3 in Olympic Tug o’ War - 1908, Mein Kampf Published - 1925, Great Martinstown Downpour - 1955, First UK Broadcast of Big Brother - 2000
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