1757: Joseph Black discovers carbon dioxide

Joseph Black (1728-1799)

In 1668 John Mayow came very close to discovering oxygen and carbon dioxide. Perhaps the only thing stopping him from these discoveries was an early death. This left the door open for other investigators, such as Joseph Black.

In the 13th century, and again in the 17th century, Roger Bacon and Jean van Helmont described a substance they referred to as gas sylvestre.

In 1668, John Mayow noted his belief that there was a vapor arising from the blood that was exhaled during the act of respiration. Yet he passed away before he was able to make anything further of this discovery.

Other investigators performed experiments with this substance throughout the 18th century, and by the 1750s, by the time Joseph Black began his experiments with the gas, it was generally referred to as "fixed air."

So, while performing his own experiments in 1757,  Black essentially proved proved Bacon, van Helmont and Mayow correct, that a substance, be it called "gas sylvestre" or "fixed air" does exist.

By his experiments, he proved that by heating limestone the substance was released into the atmosphere.  He also proved that this substance was exhaled during the process of respiration.

Also of significance is that Black discovered that this compound was formed animals and exhaled by the lungs, thus proving Mayow correct. A picture was now forming that the purpose of the lungs was not to cool the body, but to inhale a substance vital to life, and exhale a waste product (carbon dioxide).  This wisdom would be expounded upon by great minds of the next century.

So, beginning in the 13th century, various men of genius began to question the ideas of the ancients, those that were held by the Church.  Many of them risked everything to perform, and later to announce, their discoveries to the world.  Such bravery allowed for science to slowly replace mythology in medicine.

References:

1. Tissier
2. Lagerkvist, Ulf, "The Enigma of Ferment," 2005, Singapore, World Scientific Publishing
3. Potter, Elizabeth, "Gender and Boyle's Law of Gases," 2001, Indiana University Press
4. Newman, William R, et al, "Alchemy Tried in the Fire," 2002, University of Chicago
5. Lehrs, Ernst, "Man or Matter," 1958, Great Britain, Whistable Litho Ltd.
6. Jindel, S.K., "Oxygen Therapy," 2008, pages 5-8
7. Hill, Leonard, Benjamin Moore, Arthur Phillip Beddard, John James Rickard, etc., editors, "Recent Advances in Physiology and bio-chemistry," 1908, London, Edward Arnold
8. Hamilton, William, "A History of Medicine, Surgery and Anatomy," 1831, Vol. I, London, New Burlington
9. Osler, William Henry, "The evolution of Modern Medicine: A series of lectures delivered at Yale University on the Sillman Foundation in April, 1913," 1921, New Haven, Yale University Press
10. Osler, ibid, pages 170, reference referring to William Harvey: Exercitatio Anatomica de Motu Cordis et Sanguinis in Animalibus, Francofurti, 1628, G. Moreton's facsimile reprint and translation, Canterbury, 1894, p. 48. 20 Ibid., p. 49.
11. Garrison, Fielding Hudson, "Introduction to the history of medicine," 1921, London, 
12. Baker, Christopher, editor, "The Great Cultural Eras of the Western World: Absolutism and the Scientific Revolution 1600-1720: A biographical dictionary," 2002, CT, Greenwood Publishing; Herman Boerhavve published Biblia Naturae (Bible of Nature) in 1737, which was a two volume compilation of the works of Jan Swammerdam. Can you read Latin?
13. Garrison, op cit, 266; (Samuel) Pepy's Diary, Mynors Bright's ed., London, 1900, v, 191
14. Bradford, Thomas Lindsley, writer, Robert Ray Roth, editor, “Quiz questions on the history of medicine from the lectures of Thomas Lindley Bradford M.D.,” 1898, Philadelphia, Hohn Joseph McVey
15. Brock, Arthur John, "Galen on the natural faculties," 1916, London, New York, William Heinemann, G.P. Putnam's Sons
16. "History of Chemistry," historyworld.net, http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?ParagraphID=kpt, accessed 7/6/14
17. Affray, Charles, Denis Noble, "Origins of Systems Biology in William Harvey's masterpiece on the Movement of the Heart and the Blood in Animals," April 17, 2009, International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 10(2), pages 1658-1669, found online at ncbi.nlm.hih.gov, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2680639/, accessed 7/8/14

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1268: Bacon discovers carbon dioxide

Roger Bacon was perhaps the first to conceiveof the idea
 that a substance, later called carbon dioxide,
was in the air in cellars where grapeswere fermenting.
 He does not get credit for the discovery of CO2, however.  

Even though Galen's theories about air held sway over the scientific community, there were various great minds along the way that doubted Galen, and based on their own observations, set out to perform experiments that would prove Galen wrong.

Roger Bacon (1213-1294) was born in Kilchester in Somersetshireto to a wealthy family when Henry III (1207-1272) was the King of England.  He spent 8-10,000 pounds performing his own experiments, went to Oxford, "where his great abilities were soon recognized."  He then moved to Paris, "the center of intellectual learning at the time," said historian Thomas Bradford. (14, page 112)

He was "disgusted with the superficial scholastic methods at the time, and devoted himself to the study of languages and experimental research," said Bradford.  (14, page 112)

Bradford said he ended up back at Oxford by 1250 and found himself a member of the Fransiscan order. (4, pages 112-113)

 "His fame spread at Oxford, although it was whispered that he had dealings in magic and the black arts.  Some doubts of his orthodoxy were expressed, and in 1257 Bonaventura, the General of his orders, forbade his lectures at Oxford, and commanded him to leave the town and place himself under the command of the body in Paris.  There he remained for ten years under constant supervision, suffering great privations, and not allowed to write anything that might be published." (4, pages 112-113)

During his life there was much scorn and animosity toward the medical profession and science in general, although somehow he gained the respect of Pope Clement IV (1195-1268) who "wrote to Bacon ordering him, notwithstanding the interdict of his superiors, to write out and send him a treaties on the sciences. Previous to this he, discouraged, had composed but little; but taking heart of grace and despite of the many obstacles thrown in his way by the jealousy of his superiors and brother friars, he completed in 18 months three large treatises, the Opus Magnus, Opus Minus and Opus Tertium. In 1268, Bacon was released and allowed to return to Oxford, where he continued his labors in experimental science, and in completing his numerous treatises. He wrote a great many works on alchemy, philosophy and physics." (14, page 113)

So Bacon's life is yet another example of how hard it was for great minds in this era to perform experiments, and to get their works published.  However, he made the observation that air in cellars where grapes were fermenting was not normal, and prolonged exposure resulted in mental changes and possibly death.  He determined there was a substance in this that he called gas sylvestre.  This gas later became known as carbon dioxide.

References:

1. Tissier
2. Lagerkvist, Ulf, "The Enigma of Ferment," 2005, Singapore, World Scientific Publishing
3. Potter, Elizabeth, "Gender and Boyle's Law of Gases," 2001, Indiana University Press
4. Newman, William R, et al, "Alchemy Tried in the Fire," 2002, University of Chicago
5. Lehrs, Ernst, "Man or Matter," 1958, Great Britain, Whistable Litho Ltd.
6. Jindel, S.K., "Oxygen Therapy," 2008, pages 5-8
7. Hill, Leonard, Benjamin Moore, Arthur Phillip Beddard, John James Rickard, etc., editors, "Recent Advances in Physiology and bio-chemistry," 1908, London, Edward Arnold
8. Hamilton, William, "A History of Medicine, Surgery and Anatomy," 1831, Vol. I, London, New Burlington
9. Osler, William Henry, "The evolution of Modern Medicine: A series of lectures delivered at Yale University on the Sillman Foundation in April, 1913," 1921, New Haven, Yale University Press
10. Osler, ibid, pages 170, reference referring to William Harvey: Exercitatio Anatomica de Motu Cordis et Sanguinis in Animalibus, Francofurti, 1628, G. Moreton's facsimile reprint and translation, Canterbury, 1894, p. 48. 20 Ibid., p. 49.
11. Garrison, Fielding Hudson, "Introduction to the history of medicine," 1921, London, 
12. Baker, Christopher, editor, "The Great Cultural Eras of the Western World: Absolutism and the Scientific Revolution 1600-1720: A biographical dictionary," 2002, CT, Greenwood Publishing; Herman Boerhavve published Biblia Naturae (Bible of Nature) in 1737, which was a two volume compilation of the works of Jan Swammerdam. Can you read Latin?
13. Garrison, op cit, 266; (Samuel) Pepy's Diary, Mynors Bright's ed., London, 1900, v, 191
14. Bradford, Thomas Lindsley, writer, Robert Ray Roth, editor, “Quiz questions on the history of medicine from the lectures of Thomas Lindley Bradford M.D.,” 1898, Philadelphia, Hohn Joseph McVey
15. Brock, Arthur John, "Galen on the natural faculties," 1916, London, New York, William Heinemann, G.P. Putnam's Sons
16. "History of Chemistry," historyworld.net, http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?ParagraphID=kpt, accessed 7/6/14

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