Timothy Priestley

Timothy Priestley (19 June 1734 – 23 April 1814) was an English Independent minister. The younger brother of Joseph Priestley, he was a collaborator in making electrical apparatus.

Life The second child of Jonas and Mary Priestley, was born at Fieldhead in the parish of Birstall, Yorkshire, on 19 June 1734. He was brought up by his grandfather, Joseph Swift, and sent to school at Batley. For some time he was employed in his father's business as a cloth-dresser.

His elder brother Joseph Priestley, thought Timothy frivolous; but he received a religious direction from James Scott (1710-1783), who became minister of Upper Chapel, Heckmondwike in Yorkshire, in 1754. Scott in 1756 established a dissenting academy at Southfield, near Heckmondwike, and Timothy Priestley was the second young man who entered it as a student for the ministry. He got into trouble, however, by going out to preach without leave; and Joseph disparaged his training.

Priestley refused to join the petitions (1772-3) for relaxation of the Toleration Act, except on the condition that concealment of heresy should be made a capital offence. In 1774 he was in London, preaching at Whitefield's Tabernacle, Moorfields. In 1782 the two Priestleys were appointed to preach the "double lecture" (24 August) at Oldbury, Worcestershire; Joseph wished his brother to decline, and on his refusal to give way, himself withdrew, his place being taken by Habakkuk Crabb. The electrical collaboration dated back to Joseph's vacations from Daventry Academy, when the brothers studied science together from encyclopedias, for example the Dictionary of Arts and Sciences of John Barrow. They worked on electrostatics, discharging electrical charges through iron. The machine design was for electrostatic purposes, and Timothy had lathe and other skills for the actual construction. Priestley electrical machine. Illustration in the first edition of Joseph Priestley's Familiar Introduction to Electricity (1768) A market for these machines was created by Joseph's History and Present State of Electricity (1767). Design details were given in John Imison's The School of Arts (1785), and later in the Encyclopædia Britannica.

One such machine survived and was put on display in 1860 at Burlington House by James Yates, part of a display of Priestley memorabilia. It had been bequeathed by Dr. Robert Cappe to John Bostock. Cappe's machine was bought for therapeutic purposes at Leeds General Infirmary, where William Hey supported the treatment; Timothy Priestley was paid £5 11s. 6d. for it.

Works Priestley issued a periodical, The Christian's Magazine, or Gospel Repository, designed to counteract Unitarianism (three volumes, 1790-2); the first volume is dedicated to Selina, Countess of Huntingdon, a friend. It contained a biography of Scott, his tutor, which was reprinted in 1791.

His advertised Animadversions on his brother's theological views do not seem to have been published.

He published also: the Christian's Looking-Glass, 1790-2; Family Exercises, 1792;

and a few single sermons.

Priestley was attacked by the polemicist William Huntington.

Family Priestley's wife Anne died in 1793 at age 47. His son William (1768-1827) was independent minister at Fordingbridge, Hampshire.