Senses of Chymistry in the Low Countries in the 17th Century

Time: 12:00 - 1:00 p.m.

Place: 6th Floor Conference Room, Chemical Heritage Foundation

Information: 215-873-8289 or bbl@chemheritage.org

This talk will clarify and highlight the place of Franciscus Sylvius in the history of chymistry and medicine by sketching the original context, development, and legacy of his acid-alkali system. Sylvius’s education, rise to prominence in the Amsterdam medical scene, and contact with contemporary chymists provide clues to understanding his emergence as a leading medical chymist and teaching physician. Experimentation and sensory modalities were particularly important elements of chymical practice and pedagogy in the 17th century, especially at the University of Leiden, and by investigating these themes we can uncover a synthetic history of local chymical practice and theory that integrates diverse figures and historiographic approaches.

Evan Ragland is a doctoral candidate in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at Indiana University. His dissertation work focuses on the history of chymistry in the Netherlands in the 17th century, especially in Amsterdam and Leiden. This work also follows select connections in the history of chemistry, medicine, and experimentation into the 18th and 19th centuries.