1st » British scientist Joseph Priestley discovers oxygen gas, corroborating the prior discovery of this element by German-Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele.
Famous Birthdays on August in 1774
12th » Robert Southey, English poet and author (d. 1843)
18th » Meriwether Lewis, American soldier, explorer, and politician, co-leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition (d. 1809)
28th » Elizabeth Ann Seton, American nun and saint, co-founded the Sisters of Charity Federation in the Vincentian-Setonian Tradition (d. 1821)
Famous Deaths for August 1774
11th » Charles-François Tiphaigne de la Roche, French physician and author (b. 1722)
14th » Johann Jakob Reiske, German physician and scholar (b. 1716)
25th » Niccolò Jommelli, Italian composer (b. 1714)