Beddoes lectured on chemistry at Oxford in the years that included the French Revolution, the Terror, and the outbreak of war with France, as well as the success in France of the chemical revolution. The very public dispute between Edmund Burke and Joseph Priestley meant that the latter's study of different kinds of air was politically tainted. Beddoes's democratic beliefs and his support for the new chemistry of Lavoisier meant that as chemist and physician he had to deal with complaints that he was potentially seditious and pro-French. His medical theories, allied to pneumatic chemistry and building on the work of Priestley, were accordingly suspect. In spite of that, he became the physician and friend to several members of the Lunar Society of Birmingham and to members of their family, and they in return became his patrons. His collaboration with James Watt was crucial for his development of pneumatic medicine. The full extent of Lunar patronage, and especially that of James Keir and Thomas Wedgwood, has hitherto not been recognized, but it was the concealed scale of that patronage that made possible the execution of Beddoes's ambitious programme of treatment and research.
Canada as a Neo-Europe is a relatively recent construct, although the people of its first nations, the Indians and Inuit, have been here for some twelve thousand years, since the beginning of the retreat of the last ice sheets. Western science came in a limited way with the first European explorers; Samuel de Champlain left a mariner's astrolabe behind him. The Jesuits followed with their organization and educational institutions, and from the eighteenth century science was established within European Canadian culture.
Nineteenth-century exploration of the Canadian Arctic, primarily directed by the British Admiralty, had scientific as well as geographical goals. Many expeditions, including Franklin's, had a major scientific mandate. A northwest passage was the initial inspiration, but geomagnetism (under Edward Sabine's guidance), meteorology, zoology, geology, botany, and ethnology were the principal sciences that benefited. The Royal Society of London, with its Arctic Committee, was closely involved with the Admiralty in recommending scientific programs and in nominating observers to the expeditions. Naval officers too were much concerned with science; some, including Parry and James Ross, were elected fellows of the Royal Society of London (F.R.S.).From John Ross through Parry to Franklin, scientific arctic voyages were strongly promoted. Geomagnetism, natural history, and meteorology were particularly prominent. During the searches for Franklin, the life sciences, geology, and meteorology continued to benefit, while geophysical researches were relatively neglected. After the Franklin disaster, geographical and other scientific exploration languished until the example of other nations and domestic lobbying persuaded the British government to send Nares north in 1875-76. This was the last of the old-style scientific expeditions to the Canadian Arctic. Afterwards, co-operation in science (as in the International Polar Year) and concern for the Arctic as national territory became dominant factors in arctic exploration.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.