[Henry Cavendish] fixed the weight of the earth; he....

“ [Henry Cavendish] fixed the weight of the earth; he established the proportions of the constituents of the air; he occupied himself with the quantitative study of the laws of heat; and lastly, he demonstrated the nature of water and determined its volumetric composition. Earth, air, fire, and water—each and all came within the range of his observations. ”

Thomas Edward Thorpe

From : History of Chemistry