Reply #3: The age of alchemy really didn't die out until society became more industrialized

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I don't think it's a knock on Newton that he was an alchemist; there were plenty of alchemists back then, and no real organized study of chemistry (Boyle's The Sceptical Chymist didn't come out until 1661). We laugh now at the idea of finding the elixir of life or the philosopher's stone (though we've kind of found that one via particle accelerators), but there was no real framework for rejecting those notions back then. Alchemists did discover useful things, but because the art was so mired in mysticism and secrecy, much of that work has been lost, since alchemists frequently wrote in personal codes nearly impossible to decipher.

The history of alchemy is very fascinating, and the work some of them did is, as well. Ultimately, it did lay the groundwork for modern chemistry and chemical research, although we've wisely dropped the superstitious and theological element.