Benjamin Silliman
Benjamin Silliman was an American chemist and science educator, recognized as one of the first professors of science in the United States and the first to hold such a position at Yale. He is credited with being the first person in America to employ fractional distillation. In 1818, he founded the *American Journal of Science*, which remains the oldest continuously published scientific journal in the country. Born in a tavern in North Stratford, Connecticut, in August 1779, his early life was marked by the Revolutionary War: his father, a general, was taken prisoner by British forces, and his mother fled their home to escape British troops who burned the center of Fairfield. Silliman earned his B.A. from Yale in 1796 and an M.A. in 1799, then studied law and became a tutor at Yale. In 1802, despite having no background in chemistry, Yale President Timothy Dwight IV hired him as a professor of chemistry and natural history. Silliman prepared by studying chemistry in Philadelphia, and in 1804 he delivered the first science lectures ever given at Yale. He later studied at the University of Edinburgh. His chemical analysis of a meteorite that fell in Weston, Connecticut, in 1807 was the first published scientific account of an American meteorite. He also identified minerals such as tungsten and topaz in rocks from Trumbull, and discovered some of the first articulated fossil fishes in the United States. The mineral sillimanite was named after him in 1850. Silliman was an early advocate for coeducation, regularly admitting young women to his lecture classes, an effort that influenced Frederick Barnard. He also pioneered the mass production of carbonated water, opening a soda fountain in New Haven in 1806. A Christian, he advocated for old Earth creationism and argued against atheism.
- field
- Chemistry, geology, natural history
- nationality
- American
- known_for
- First science professor at Yale; first fractional distillation in America; found
Lore & Background
Benjamin Silliman was born several months after British forces took his father prisoner and his mother fled their home in Fairfield, Connecticut, to escape 2,000 British troops who burned Fairfield center. He was educated at Yale, receiving a B.A. Returning to New Haven, Silliman studied its geology. The mineral sillimanite was named after him in 1850. Upon the founding of the medical school, he taught there as one of the founding faculty members. Silliman was an early supporter of coeducation in the Ivy League, allowing young women into his lecture classes, though Yale would not admit women as students for over 100 years. He was a Christian and spoke in favor of old Earth creationism, arguing that the chronology of the Scriptures applied only to the history of the human race, while the creation preceded man by many ages.
Reader's Guide
Benjamin Silliman was a pioneering American chemist and educator whose work shaped the early scientific landscape of the United States. He became the first professor of science at Yale, despite having no prior background in chemistry, and delivered the institution’s first science lectures in 1804. His chemical analysis of a meteorite that fell near Weston, Connecticut, in 1807 marked the first published scientific account of an American meteorite. Silliman also identified several minerals—including tungsten, tellurium, topaz, and fluorite—in rocks from Connecticut, and his discoveries of articulated fossil fishes in Newark Supergroup deposits contributed to early American paleontology. He founded the *American Journal of Science* in 1818, the oldest continuously published scientific journal in the United States, which emphasized geology and natural sciences. Silliman pioneered the mass production of carbonated water in America, opening a soda fountain in New Haven in 1806 and marketing mineral waters for their medicinal properties. He was the first person in the United States to use fractional distillation, and his son later applied the technique to petroleum. Silliman also advocated for coeducation, allowing young women into his lecture classes, which influenced later educational reforms. A Christian who supported old Earth creationism, he argued against atheism and materialism in addresses to scientific associations.
Did You Know?
- Benjamin Silliman was born several months after British forces took his father prisoner and his mother fled their home in Fairfield, Connecticut, to escape 2,000 British troops who burned Fairfield center.
- The mineral sillimanite was named after him in 1850.
- Silliman was an early supporter of coeducation in the Ivy League, allowing young women into his lecture classes, though Yale would not admit women as students for over 100 years.
- He was a Christian and spoke in favor of old Earth creationism, arguing that the chronology of the Scriptures applied only to the history of the human race, while the creation preceded man by many ages.
- Silliman identified tungsten, tellurium, topaz, and fluorite in Connecticut rocks, and contributed to paleontology through the discovery of early fossil fishes.
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