13/03/2026
The next on-line seminar of the Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry will be given by Professor John C. Powers (Virginia Commonwealth University) who will present:
Defending the New Chemistry: The Columbian Chemical Society of Philadelphia, c. 1811-13
This will be live on Thursday, 26 March 2026, beginning at 5.00pm (London time). The format will be a talk of 20-30 minutes, followed by a moderated discussion of half an hour.
From this seminar we are changing the system for registering to attend the event. To register please e-mail [email protected] with ‘SHAC on-line seminar’ in the subject line. You will then be sent a Zoom link on the morning of the seminar.
The seminar will be also accessible live on YouTube at:
https://youtube.com/live/ImYxiaJiNOQ?feature=share
Most previous on-line seminars can be found on the SHAC YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/SocietyforHistoryofAlchemyandChemistry
Defending the New Chemistry: The Columbian Chemical Society of Philadelphia, c. 1811-13
John C. Powers
During the first decade of the 19th Century, several tenets of Lavoisier’s antiphlogistic chemistry had come under serious scrutiny through the work of Thomas Thomson, Humphry Davy and other British chemists. Details of this work quickly crossed the Atlantic and became a topic of discussion and debate among American chemists and physicians. In Philadelphia, two Professors of Chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School, James Woodhouse (prof. 1795-1809) and John Redman Coxe (prof. 1809-18) embraced the British critiques of the new chemistry and exposed the new chemistry’s weaknesses to their students. Coxe, in fact, published a book, Observations on Combustion and Acidification (1811) in which, following suggestions from Davy, he advocated a return to a version of the phlogiston theory.
In a curious twist, many chemistry and medical students in Philadelphia did not support their professors’ critical approach to the new chemistry. In 1811 students founded the Columbian Chemical Society of Philadelphia, an organization which provided an outlet for them to present their own practical work in chemistry as well as refute claims which undermined Lavoisier’s views. This talk will examine some of the papers by these students, who went on to have careers as prominent chemists or physicians, such as Thomas D. Mitchell, Franklin Bache, and James Cutbush, and provide some context regarding the ongoing debate over the new chemistry in the United States.
The Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry, founded as the Society for the Study of Alchemy and Early Chemistry in 1935, holds meetings and a yearly Graduate Workshop, publishes the journal Ambix and a biennial newsletter Chemical Intelligence, and offers prizes and grants to scholars.
