Daniel Rutherford, Scottish Chemist and Botanist

Daniel Rutherford (1749-1819) was a Scottish physician, chemist and botanist who discovered and isolated nitrogen gas in 1772. He kept a mouse in a container of air until it died, burned a candle until it was extinguished and finally burned phosphorus until it would not burn anymore. He passed the remaining gas through an alkaline solution to remove any carbon dioxide. Rutherford called the remaining gas noxious air or phlogisticated air because it would not support life or combustion. He was a professor of botany at the University of Edinburgh and keeper of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. He died in 1819 at the age of 70

Restrictions Only for Ireland and United Kingdom

1749 1772 1819 Alkaline Botanic Botanist Carbon Chemistry Combustion Dioxide Discovered Educator Gardener Isolated Keeper Nitrogen Noxious Remove Rutherford Solution

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