Humphry Davy, nitrous oxide, the Pneumatic Institution, and the Royal Institution

Abstract

Humphry Davy (1778–1829) has an interesting place in the history of respiratory gases because the Pneumatic Institution in which he did much of his early work signaled the end of an era of discovery. The previous 40 years had seen essentially all of the important respiratory gases described, and the Institution was formed to exploit their possible value in medical treatment. Davy himself is well known for producing nitrous oxide and demonstrating that its inhalation could cause euphoria and heightened imagination. His thinking influenced the poets Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth, and perhaps we can claim that our discipline colored the poetry of the Romantic Movement. Davy was also the first person to measure the residual volume of the lung. The Pneumatic Institution was the brainchild of Thomas Beddoes, who had trained in Edinburgh under Joseph Black, who discovered carbon dioxide. Later Davy moved to the Royal Institution in London formed, in part, to diffuse the knowledge of scientific discoveries to the general public. Davy was a brilliant lecturer and developed an enthusiastic following. In addition he exploited the newly described electric battery to discover several new elements. He also invented the safety lamp in response to a series of devastating explosions in coal mines. Ultimately Davy became president of the Royal Society, a remarkable honor for somebody with such humble origins. Another of his important contributions was to introduce Michael Faraday (1791–1867) to science. Faraday became one of the most illustrious British scientists of all time.