Gehennical Fire: The Lives of George Starkey, an American Alchemist in the Scientific Revolution

by William R. Newman

Both the quest for natural knowledge and the aspiration to alchemical wisdom played crucial roles in the Scientific Revolution, as William R. Newman demonstrates in this fascinating book about George Starkey (1628-1665), America's first famous scientist. Beginning with Starkey's unusual education in colonial New England, Newman traces out his many interconnected careers—natural philosopher, alchemist, chemist, medical practitioner, economic projector, and creator of the fabulous adept, "Eirenaeus Philalethes." Newman reveals the profound impact Starkey had on the work of Isaac Newton, Robert Boyle, Samuel Hartlib, and other key thinkers in the realm of early modern science.

348 pages, Paperback

First published February 15, 2003

About the author

William R. Newman is the Ruth Halls Professor in the Department of the History and Philosophy of Science at Indiana University and the author of Gehennical Fire and Promethean Ambitions, as well as the coauthor of Alchemy Tried in the Fire (which was awarded the 2005 Pfizer Prize for the best book in the History of Science), all published by the University of Chicago Press.