Joseph Black

1728-1799

Joseph Black was a Scottish physicist during the Scottish Enlightenment.

Joseph Black was born on the 16th of April 1728, in Bordeaux, France. His father, an Irishman from Belfast, was in the wine industry at the time, which is why his family was in France at the time of his birth. The family of his mother, from Aberdeenshire, was also in the wine industry.

Joseph Black began his studies at the University of Glasgow, which he attended for four years. He later attended the University of Edinburgh, at which he made the academic discoveries for which he holds fame.

Joseph Black helped solidify the idea that air was not a single element but a collection of various gases. He did this through a collection of research and experiments on carbon. Joseph Black was also the first person to isolate carbon.

Joseph Black pioneered the field of thermal science via his conception of the concept of latent heat. This is the concept which has thrown Joseph Black into the spotlight of the historic scientific community. This concept led the protégé of Joseph Black, James Watt, to refine the design for his claim to fame, the steam engine.

Joseph Black was awarded the Regius Professor of the Practice of Medicine at the University of Glasgow in 1757. He was a member of the “Poker Club”. He also created the highly accurate analytic balance, used for measuring weights.