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The Dewsbury vicar who weighed the world

In the quiet West Yorkshire parish of Thornhill lived a man whose ideas changed science, John Michell. He pursued an ambitious experiment to weigh the Earth.

In a quiet West Yorkshire parish lived a man whose ideas changed science. John Michell mixed with figures including Benjamin Franklin and Joseph Priestley, developed theories that shaped modern physics and pursued an ambitious experiment to weigh the Earth. Yet his name remains largely unknown.
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Guest: Christine Widdall
(Image: Getty)

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7 minutes