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One of the greatest scientists of the 19th century, Michael Faraday was born at Newington, England, on September 22, 1791. He started work at the age of fourteen as an apprentice bookbinder and bookseller. It is during that time that he became fascinated with science, eagerly reading any science book that passed his way. At the age of 21, he was appointed assistant to Humphrey Davy, at that time a renowned chemist and popular science lecturer. Although lacking formal education, he excelled at experimentation and soon started to publish his research results in the fields of chemistry and physics. |
Among his scientific achievements, Faraday was the discoverer of magnetic induction and the effects of dielectrics (the farad, unit of capacitance, is named after him). He developed the concept of lines of forces, and discovered the laws of electrolysis. He coined the terms "anode", cathode", "electrode", "anion" and "cation", in universal use today.
Faraday published a number of books, and was elected to the Royal Society in 1824. He died at Hampton Court on August 25, 1867.
