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Micheal Faraday (1791-1867)
Micheal Faraday was the son of a blacksmith. His father had originally lived in the north of England, but had come south to find work. He settled in Newington, Surrey. There were four children and, with his father often ill and unable to work, Micheal Faraday had to earn his living from an early age. This meant little or no schooling. However, the family belonged to a religious group called the Sandemanians, and Faraday learnt to read and write at Sunday School. When he was only fourteen, Faraday was apprenticed to a bookbinder. He used to read the books he was given to bind and he became fascinated by the scientific books, particularly the ones about electricity. His interest soon took a practical path and he began conducting his own experiments. These were very basic because Faraday had to make all of his equipment himself. However, he was very thorough and kept a precise written record of all his findings. One day he was given a entrance ticket to the Royal Institute chemistry lecture, given by Humphry Davy. Faraday was enthralled and became determined to work for this great scientist. He sent Davy a job application and included his laboratory reports on the experiments he had carried out. Davy must have been impressed by Faraday's work and determination because, in 1813, he offered Faraday a job as one of his laboratory assistants. Faraday learnt quickly and soon built up a reputation of his own as a very able analytical chemist. In 1821, Faraday got married and settled in London, where he went to work at the Royal Institute. In 1855, Queen Victoria offered him a retirement house at Hampton Court, which he accepted, and a knighthood, which he did not accept. Unfortunately, from this time onwards Faraday's mind started to fail and he was quite senile when he died in 1867. Micheal Faraday was, perhaps, the greatest practical scientist of the 19th century. His studies and discoveries touched upon many different scientific fields. As a chemist, he discovered the benzene, which is now the focal point of a major area of chemical study. He also demonstrated the relationship between electricity and chemical bonding. As a physicist, he invented the dynamo, which was the precursor of the electric motor. He also discovered the effect of magnetism on light rays and was the first to demonstrate induced current.
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