*Ø* Blogmanac May 6, 1782 | Last of the alchemists
1782 James Price, a Guildford, England chemist, began an experiment (concluded May 25) to turn mercury (another source says sulphur, and another, half a grain of 'a certain powder of deep red colour' with some heated mercury; yet another refers to a white powder with mercury, borax and nitre, as well as silver) into gold. He presented some of his supposed gold to King George III, and was awarded the degree of MD by Oxford University.
Sir Joseph Banks (the botanist famed for his work in Australia with Capt. James Cook) and suspicious members of the Royal Society asked him to repeat his experiments publicly. For this purpose he left London, in January 1783, for his laboratory at Guildford, faithfully promising to return in a month, and confound and convince all his opponents.
Eight months passed, and on August 3, 1783, he called a group of three very dubious RS members together – and drank prussic acid in front of them, falling dead. It may be seen to mark the death of traditional alchemy in England ...
This is just a snippet of today's stories. Read all about today in folklore, historical oddities, inspiration and alternatives, with more links, at the Wilson's Almanac Book of Days, every day. Click today's date when you're there.
1782 James Price, a Guildford, England chemist, began an experiment (concluded May 25) to turn mercury (another source says sulphur, and another, half a grain of 'a certain powder of deep red colour' with some heated mercury; yet another refers to a white powder with mercury, borax and nitre, as well as silver) into gold. He presented some of his supposed gold to King George III, and was awarded the degree of MD by Oxford University.
Sir Joseph Banks (the botanist famed for his work in Australia with Capt. James Cook) and suspicious members of the Royal Society asked him to repeat his experiments publicly. For this purpose he left London, in January 1783, for his laboratory at Guildford, faithfully promising to return in a month, and confound and convince all his opponents.
Eight months passed, and on August 3, 1783, he called a group of three very dubious RS members together – and drank prussic acid in front of them, falling dead. It may be seen to mark the death of traditional alchemy in England ...
This is just a snippet of today's stories. Read all about today in folklore, historical oddities, inspiration and alternatives, with more links, at the Wilson's Almanac Book of Days, every day. Click today's date when you're there.
Pip Wilson posted item above at 4:05 PM | Permalink
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