Robert Boyle

     A world famous scientist is always an interesting read. John Hudson Tiner tells us about Robert Boyle in his biography entitled Robert Boyle: Trailblazer of Science.


     Robert was a son of the great Earl of Cork. The Earl sent all of his boys to peasant homes until they were four. This way they learned to work and not to be lazy like most of noble children at that time were. On his fourth birthday a fancy coach came to pick him up and bring him to his father. He had never met his father before that he could remember. That night he went to bed on a covered bed with big cushions and soft blankets. It was a big change from a pile of straw for a bed and a small hut. Robert met his siblings but sadly his mother had died a year before. From an early age he enjoyed learning. His father therefore took extra care with his education.

     When Robert was eight years old his father sent him and his older brother Frank to Eton, which was a famous school in England. Robert spent all of his spare time reading books from the school library. The president of the school invited students to his house for dinner daily. Robert enjoyed this very much. The man had a laboratory in his house and was always conducting experiments. Unlike most people of his time he questioned the science books and instead of getting an answer from them he would experiment to get it. He was seeing that these ancient authorities were wrong about what they said often. He encouraged the students to question these authorities and do experiments to find answers.

     When Robert and Frank were done with their school at Eton, the Earl sent them on a tour of Europe. They traveled to every important place in Europe. Robert’s favorite place was Florence, Italy, the home of Galileo. Robert wanted to see him, but he died that winter. Robert decided that he would become a scientist. However, back home in Ireland the Irish people revolted against the English landowners leaving their father a poor man. Robert and Frank now had to find their way home on their own. They had no money. Frank went home by himself, but their tutor took Robert to his home. When Robert finally got home his father had died. He was now wandering around the streets of London penniless. He had a sister in London and she happened to find Robert. He found that his father had willed him an estate in England. He traveled to it and began to set up a laboratory.

     Robert spent most of his time in his laboratory. He wrote books on his discoveries that anyone could read. He became famous. Robert conducted experiments on air and wrote a book about them called New Experiments Touching on the Spring of the Air. This was also when he discovered what we know as Boyle’s Law, which tells us that volume and pressure of gas are inversely related. As Robert grew older he began to lose his eyesight and also suffered from a stroke. He still kept on working in his laboratory however. Robert Boyle lived from 1627-1691.

     Without Robert Boyle we wouldn’t have chemistry as we know it today. Robert Boyle set the example for scientists of his time by publishing what he knew right away so that scientists could build on each other’s work. If you want an interesting read, read this book.

Noah Webster Jr.

From a farm boy to a master of words, Noah Webster Jr. made his mark on American History. David Collins wrote about his life in his biography entitled Noah Webster: Master of Words.

Noah was born in 1759 on a farm where he grew up with his father, mother, and older siblings. The children went to the local school until they were old enough to work on the farm and were then given the choice to keep going to school or to work on the farm. Most of the children chose to work on the farm instead of keep on schooling. Noah was of a different sort than most. He loved words. He would read the paper that the family got faithfully. What he really did was study each word.

When Noah became of age to work on the farm he chose to keep schooling. He wanted to go to college. He was tutored by a preacher in town who knew Latin. Noah showed diligence and progress in his Latin studies. He traded his brother his share of hasty pudding for doing his chores so he could study. When it was time to go to college he was well prepared. He went to Yale in 1774 when he was sixteen-years-old. It cost thirty-five British pound notes to enroll. Noah studied well and progressed. His studies were Latin, Greek, mathematics, philosophy, and theology; they were seldom changed. The students were required to split their own wood, build their own fires, and carry their own water for washing and drinking.

Noah’s first year in college was interesting when the Revolutionary War began. In the chapel at Yale the students got word of what was happening with the war. The college students were exempt from military service, but that did not lessen their interest and enthusiasm about the war. When Noah visited home he told his parents about hearing the news of the war in the chapel each day. His mother thought that it was sacrilegious to use the chapel for such talks; however, his father thought that it was fine. That made Noah feel better to have his father on his side. The students at Yale organized their own military company and drilled and exercised with the New Haven militia. Noah played the flute for the militia when they drilled and marched.

During Noah’s second year at Yale geometry was added to his studies. His father was worried that Noah was not interested in agriculture. Noah wanted to study law. He graduated from Yale on July 24, 1776, as a senior. He graduated fully from Yale when he was twenty-years-old. To study law would require money. Noah had to make his own living. He had no useable skill to earn a living; so he decided to teach school. In 1779 Noah moved and taught at a different school than the year before that. He started writing essays about education for newspapers. He studied law using the library of a prominent attorney. Noah moved again and worked at a County Recorder of Deeds during the summer of 1780. He studied law at night and sometimes forgot to eat his meals.

In 1781 Noah took the bar examination to become a lawyer. He passed, which was no big surprise for him. He then tried to get a job, but now that the war was over there weren’t many to be had. Noah had no experience as a clerk or a lawyer so no-one hired him. He finally got a teaching appointment at a high school. He decided to write a speller. Since 1750 Thomas Dilworth had been the authority in the colonial classroom. Noah found little to no support from anyone about writing a speller. Sentence by sentence and page by page his speller grew. He had included charts and important dates of American history in it. In the first month of 1783 Noah finished his book. Now he was going to get it endorsed by notable politicians and educators. He wanted a copy write from the former and approval of his techniques from the later. He got both things. Most Americans loved his textbook. To write the book was a hard task but Noah had no idea how hard it would be to get it published.

Noah soon found that it would be very hard to get his book into the American classrooms. Two men eventually agreed to publish it. The book sold very well and the students liked it. Next Noah wanted to write a reader. It was another success, so Noah ended up writing everything you would need in a colonial classroom.

His most famous publication was his 1828 dictionary. He started when he was forty-seven years old and finished when he was sixty-seven years old. He had written two other dictionaries before this one besides many other publications. Noah Webster Jr. died when he was eighty-four years old on Sunday, May 28, 1843.

Well wouldn’t it be exciting to read about the life of a word master? I enjoyed it. This book is full of information and many WORDS.