The nineteenth century is filled with people who started out
in one direction and took another turn to fame.
Michael Faraday is just such a person.
A largely self-taught lad and the son of a blacksmith, he was
apprenticed to a bookbinder in London when he was 14. Reading the books he was binding gave him a
great appreciation of science. A
customer of his master provided him with tickets to lectures by famed chemist Humphry Davy at
the Royal Institution, England’s premiere laboratory. Faraday was so fascinated by the demonstration
that he took copious notes (some say up to 300 pages!), sending them to the
scientist himself. Davy was sufficiently
impressed that he hired Faraday as his assistant.
Some, including Davy’s wife, refused to see Faraday as a
gentleman. He was even asked to step in
as Davy’s valet when the previous valet quit.
However, valeting had its privileges.
Faraday traveled with Davy on a Grand Tour through France, Italy, and
Switzerland, meeting the elite scientists of the day. On Davy’s recommendation, he was made Chemical
Assistant to the Royal Institution. Following
in Davy’s footsteps, he explored the properties of chlorine and other
gasses.
But what really fascinated him was electricity, which at
that time was little more than a game to shock people at parties. He squeezed in his own experiments while
helping other scientists, using what materials were available. For example, he constructed a voltaic pile
using half pennies, sheet zinc, and paper wet with saltwater. He discovered the principles behind the
electric transformer and generator and made many other foundational
discoveries, earning him credit for inventing the electric motor. He also took
over the limelight at the Royal Institution, becoming an even more popular
lecturer than Humphry Davy.
And people began to take notice. Oxford University made him an honorary Ph.D.
in Civil Law. He was offered a knighthood and refused. He was twice suggested for president of the
Royal Society, England’s professional scientific organization, and
refused. Supposedly he was asked to
advise on the production of chemical weapons, and he refused. He was, however, elected as a foreign member
of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and the French Academy of Sciences.
One of his last areas of research was ways to improve
lighthouses to help keep ships from floundering. His recommendations were so well received
that Prince Albert arranged for him to be given a house at Hampton Court, quite
an elevation for a boy born to a blacksmith.
Some might even call it shocking.
He seems to have been smart and very gifted in science.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised he declined knighthood, I wonder how many individuals have.
I was too, J. Grace. Given how some people treated him, you would have thought a knighthood might have helped him be seen as a gentleman. I have seen several theories for why he refused. One was that he was far along in years when the offer was made, so it wouldn't do him any good career-wise. Another theory was that he belonged to a religious sect that did not believe in worldly honors.
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