Gest H
Photosynthetic Bacteria Group, Biology Department and Department of History and Philosophy of Science, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA,
Photosynth Res. 2000;63(2):183-90. doi: 10.1023/A:1006460024843.
On September 7, 1999, the 200th anniversary of the death of Dr Jan Ingen-Housz was commemorated by ceremonies in Calne, England. Ingen-Housz discovered the action of light in photosynthesis in 1779, following Joseph Priestley's demonstration that green plants had the capacity to produce oxygen. Priestley's claim for priority in discovering the light requirement of photosynthesis is examined.
