ROBERT BOYLE: Founder of Modern Chemistry

The biography of Robert Boyle attempts to integrate the life and work of the founder of modern chemistry and does so in plain factual terms. The background of 17th century England and Ireland is sketched in, the turmoil that raged between Cavaliers and Roundheads, between the English landowner and the Irish peasant. Boyle tried to shut this out of his life and sought refuge in the intelligentsia of London. It was here that his scientific aspirations took form. His experiments at Oxford led to the discovery of the air pump which was used to develop the famous Boyle's Law. The author describes Boyle's most important experiments with air and combustion and his basic probe into the accepted laws of chemistry. It is all done competently though never with liveliness. This is an addition to the Immortals of Science series, formerly known as The First Biographies.