BULLETIN FOR THE HISTORY OF CHEMISTRY
Volume 51, 2026
Giunta, Carmen J., “Henry Cavendish: Catalyst for the Chemical Revolution?,” Bull. Hist. Chem., 2026, 51, 89-98.
https://doi.org/10.70359/bhc2026v051p089
ONLY HIST MEMBERS AND SUBSCRIBERS CAN ACCESS THIS FILE
Abstract/Description: Henry Cavendish (1731-1810) was a natural philosopher who made fundamental contributions to the disciplines of chemistry and physics. In chemistry, he carried out experiments on gases, or on "airs" to use the terminology of his time. He is commonly credited with the discovery of hydrogen, which he named inflammable air. He carried out experiments which demonstrated the compound nature of water. (Neither of these two statements is as simple as it seems, as will be explained below.) His work in chemistry has been described as a "catalyst for the Chemical Revolution." His influence lasted much longer, though: one of his "Experiments on air" was cited in 1895, more than a century after its publication, as the basis of a method for isolating a newly discovered gas, argon. In physics he is best known for his experiments on gravity, which permit a rather accurate determination of what is now called the Newtonian constant of gravitation. Cavendish also did important work in heat and electricity.