Michael Faraday ( / ˈ f ær ə ˌ d eɪ / FAYR -uh-day ; 22 September 1791 – 25 August 1867) was an English scientist who made important discoveries in chemistry and physics. He studied how electricity and magnetism work, and he helped develop the understanding of electromagnetic induction, diamagnetism, and electrolysis. Faraday did not receive much formal education, but he became one of the most important scientists in history through his own learning and hard work. His research on the magnetic field around a wire carrying electricity helped scientists understand the concept of an electromagnetic field. He also showed that magnetism can influence light and that these two forces are connected. Faraday discovered the rules of electromagnetic induction, diamagnetism, and electrolysis. His inventions, such as electromagnetic rotary devices, led to the development of electric motors. Because of his work, electricity became useful in technology. The unit of measurement called the farad, used to measure capacitance, is named after him.

As a chemist, Faraday discovered benzene and carbon tetrachloride. He studied a type of ice-like structure containing chlorine and invented an early version of the Bunsen burner. He also created a system to describe how elements combine, known as oxidation numbers. He introduced terms like "anode," "cathode," "electrode," and "ion" into scientific language. Faraday became the first Fullerian Professor of Chemistry at the Royal Institution, a position he held for life.

Faraday was known for his clear and simple explanations of scientific ideas. He imagined physical processes visually rather than using complex math. His math skills were limited to basic algebra. Later, James Clerk Maxwell used Faraday’s work to create equations that explain how electricity and magnetism behave. Maxwell praised Faraday’s use of "lines of force," calling him a highly skilled mathematician.

Faraday worked to improve public safety. He helped design better lighthouses and found ways to protect ships from rusting. With Charles Lyell, he studied a coal mine explosion and showed that coal dust caused the disaster. He also looked into pollution problems, such as air quality near the Royal Mint and the polluted River Thames during the Great Stink. Faraday refused to help create chemical weapons for the Crimean War because he believed it was unethical. He did not allow his lectures to be published, believing that people should try experiments themselves to learn better. He once said, "I have always loved science more than money."

Albert Einstein kept a picture of Faraday on his wall, next to portraits of Isaac Newton and James Clerk Maxwell. Physicist Ernest Rutherford said, "Faraday’s discoveries changed science and industry forever. He deserves great praise as one of the greatest scientists in history." Faraday started the Royal Institution’s Friday Evening Discourses and helped create its Christmas Lecture Series, which continues to inspire people today.

Biography

Michael Faraday was born on September 21, 1791, in Newington Butts, Surrey, which is now part of the London Borough of Southwark. His family was not wealthy. His father, James, was a member of the Glasite sect of Christianity. James Faraday moved his wife, Margaret (née Hastwell), and their two children to London during the winter of 1790 from Outhgill in Westmorland, where he had worked as an apprentice to the village blacksmith. Michael was born in the autumn of the following year, the third of four children. As a child, Michael had only basic schooling and had to teach himself.

At age 14, he became an apprentice to George Riebau, a local bookbinder and bookseller in Blandford Street. During his seven-year apprenticeship, Faraday read many books, including The Improvement of the Mind by Isaac Watts, and followed the advice in these books. During this time, he joined the City Philosophical Society, where he attended lectures on science. He became interested in science, especially electricity. Faraday was inspired by the book Conversations on Chemistry by Jane Marcet.

In 1812, at age 20 and after completing his apprenticeship, Faraday attended lectures by the well-known chemist Humphry Davy of the Royal Institution and the Royal Society, and by John Tatum, founder of the City Philosophical Society. William Dance, a founder of the Royal Philharmonic Society, gave Faraday tickets to these lectures. Faraday later sent Davy a 300-page book based on notes he had taken during the lectures. Davy responded quickly, kindly, and positively. In 1813, after Davy injured his eyes in an accident involving nitrogen trichloride, he decided to hire Faraday as an assistant. At the same time, John Payne, a Royal Institution assistant, was fired, and Davy was asked to find a replacement. Faraday was appointed as Chemical Assistant at the Royal Institution on March 1, 1813. Soon after, Davy asked Faraday to prepare samples of nitrogen trichloride, and both men were injured in an explosion of this substance.

Faraday married Sarah Barnard (1800–1879) on June 12, 1821. They met through their families at the Sandemanian church, and he shared his religious beliefs with the Sandemanian congregation the month after their marriage. They had no children. Faraday was a devout Christian; his Sandemanian denomination was a branch of the Church of Scotland. After his marriage, he served as a deacon and for two terms as an elder in the meeting house of his youth. His church was located at Paul’s Alley in the Barbican. In 1862, the meeting house moved to Barnsbury Grove, Islington, where Faraday served the final two years of his second term as elder before resigning. Biographers noted that Faraday believed in the unity of God and nature throughout his life and work.

In June 1832, the University of Oxford gave Faraday an honorary Doctor of Civil Law degree. During his lifetime, he was offered a knighthood for his contributions to science but refused it for religious reasons, believing it was against the Bible to seek wealth or worldly rewards. He stated he preferred to remain "plain Mr. Faraday" until the end. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1824 and twice refused to become its president. In 1833, he became the first Fullerian Professor of Chemistry at the Royal Institution.

In 1832, Faraday was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 1838, he became a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. In 1840, he was elected to the American Philosophical Society. In 1844, he was one of eight foreign members elected to the French Academy of Sciences. In 1849, he was elected an associated member of the Royal Institute of the Netherlands, which later became the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, and he was made a foreign member.

In 1839, Faraday experienced a nervous breakdown but later returned to his research on electromagnetism. In 1848, after the Prince Consort advocated for him, Faraday was given a grace and favor house in Hampton Court, Middlesex, free of cost and maintenance. This house, later named Faraday House, is now No. 37 Hampton Court Road. Faraday retired there in 1858.

Faraday provided many services to the British government. When asked to advise on the production of chemical weapons for the Crimean War (1853–1856), he refused, citing ethical reasons. He also refused offers to publish his lectures, believing they would lose their impact without live experiments. In a letter, he wrote: "I have always loved science more than money, and because my occupation is almost entirely personal, I cannot afford to get rich."

Faraday died at his home in Hampton Court on August 25, 1867, at age 75. Earlier, he had refused an offer to be buried in Westminster Abbey. A memorial plaque near Isaac Newton’s tomb marks his legacy. Faraday was buried in the dissenters’ (non-Anglican) section of Highgate Cemetery.

Scientific achievements

Michael Faraday began his chemical work as an assistant to Humphry Davy. He studied chlorine and discovered two new compounds made from chlorine and carbon: hexachloroethane, which he created by adding chlorine to ethylene, and carbon tetrachloride, which formed when hexachloroethane broke apart. He also performed early experiments on how gases spread out, a process first described by John Dalton. Later scientists, such as Thomas Graham and Joseph Loschmidt, studied this process more closely. Faraday also managed to turn several gases into liquids, studied steel alloys, and made new types of glass for use in science. One of these heavy glasses was important in history because when placed in a magnetic field, Faraday found that it changed the direction of polarized light. This glass was also the first material discovered to be pushed away by a magnet’s poles.

Faraday created an early version of the Bunsen burner, a tool still used today in science labs for heating. He worked in chemistry, discovering substances like benzene (which he called bicarburet of hydrogen) and liquefying gases such as chlorine. Liquefying gases helped scientists understand that gases are vapors of liquids with very low boiling points and supported the idea that molecules group together. In 1820, Faraday made the first compounds from carbon and chlorine, C₂Cl₆ and CCl₄, and published his findings the next year. He also studied a substance called chlorine clathrate hydrate, which was first found by Humphry Davy in 1810. Faraday also discovered the laws of electrolysis and helped popularize terms like anode, cathode, electrode, and ion, which were suggested by William Whewell.

Faraday was the first to describe what are now called metallic nanoparticles. In 1857, he noticed that gold particles in a liquid had different light properties than solid gold. This observation might be considered the start of nanoscience.

Faraday is best known for his work on electricity and magnetism. His first experiment involved making a simple battery using coins, zinc, and saltwater-soaked paper. He used this battery to pass electricity through a solution of magnesium sulfate and split the chemical compound.

In 1821, after Danish scientist Hans Christian Ørsted discovered electromagnetism, Faraday built devices to create continuous motion using magnetic forces. One of these, now called the homopolar motor, used a wire in a pool of mercury with a magnet. When electricity flowed through the wire, it rotated around the magnet. These experiments laid the groundwork for modern electromagnetic technology. Faraday later published his results without mentioning his work with others, which caused some controversy.

After 1821, Faraday continued studying materials and their electromagnetic properties. In 1824, he tested whether a magnetic field could control current in a nearby wire but found no connection. He later focused on making high-quality glass for experiments linking light and magnetism. He also shared his findings with scientists he met during travels with Davy. In 1831, two years after Davy’s death, Faraday discovered electromagnetic induction by wrapping coils of wire around an iron ring. When he passed current through one coil, a momentary current appeared in the other. This discovery, called mutual inductance, is still displayed at the Royal Institution. Faraday later showed that moving a magnet near a wire could create electricity, proving that changing magnetic fields produce electric fields. This idea became part of Maxwell’s equations and led to the development of electric generators and motors.

In 1832, Faraday studied electricity using static charges, batteries, and animal electricity. He concluded that all electricity is the same, and differences in effects came from changes in current and voltage.

Near the end of his career, Faraday suggested that electromagnetic forces exist in empty space around conductors. His idea was not accepted at first, but later scientists confirmed it. It took about 50 years for electricity to be widely used in technology, such as the incandescent light bulbs in the Savoy Theatre.

In 1845, Faraday discovered that many materials are weakly repelled by magnetic fields, a property he called diamagnetism. He also found that polarized light can change direction when exposed to a magnetic field, a phenomenon now known as the Faraday effect. In September 1845, he wrote in his notebook, “I have at last succeeded in illuminating a magnetic curve or line of force and in magnetising a ray of light.”

Royal Institution and public service

Michael Faraday had a long connection with the Royal Institution of Great Britain. In 1821, he was named Assistant Superintendent of the Royal Institution’s House. In 1824, he was chosen as a Fellow of the Royal Society. In 1825, he became Director of the Royal Institution’s Laboratory. In 1833, Faraday was named the first Fullerian Professor of Chemistry at the Royal Institution of Great Britain. This position was given to him for life, and he was not required to give lectures. His sponsor and mentor was John "Mad Jack" Fuller, who created the role specifically for Faraday.

In addition to his scientific research on topics like chemistry, electricity, and magnetism at the Royal Institution, Faraday worked on many projects for private companies and the British government. These included studying coal mine explosions, testifying in court, and working with engineers from Chance Brothers around 1853 to create high-quality optical glass for lighthouses. In 1846, Faraday and Charles Lyell produced a detailed report on a serious explosion at a coal mine in County Durham, which killed 95 miners. Their report showed that coal dust made the explosion worse. Faraday demonstrated how proper ventilation could prevent such disasters during a lecture. However, the report’s warning about coal dust was ignored for over 60 years until the 1913 Senghenydd Colliery Disaster.

As a respected scientist in a country with strong maritime interests, Faraday worked on projects like building lighthouses and protecting ships from rust. His workshop still stands at Trinity Buoy Wharf near London’s only lighthouse, where he first tested electric lighting for lighthouses.

Faraday also studied industrial pollution in Swansea and advised on air pollution at the Royal Mint. In July 1855, he wrote a letter to The Times about the polluted River Thames, which led to a widely reprinted cartoon in Punch. (See also The Great Stink.)

Faraday helped plan and judge exhibits for the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London. He also advised the National Gallery on protecting its art and served on the National Gallery Site Commission in 1857. Education was another area of his work. In 1854, he gave lectures on education at the Royal Institution, and in 1862, he shared his views on education in Great Britain with a Public Schools Commission. Faraday also criticized the public’s interest in table-turning, mesmerism, and séances, and he criticized the educational system for not discouraging such beliefs.

Before his famous Christmas lectures, Faraday gave chemistry lectures for the City Philosophical Society from 1816 to 1818 to improve his speaking skills. These were the only lectures he gave outside the Royal Institution.

Between 1827 and 1860, Faraday gave 19 Christmas lectures at the Royal Institution for young people. These lectures continue today. The goal was to teach science to young people and the public, and to help the Royal Institution earn money. He also started the Friday Evening Discourses in 1825, where scientists shared their latest research. Both events were popular among London’s wealthy and were made successful by Faraday’s speaking skills. In letters to his friend Benjamin Abbott, Faraday shared his ideas about lecturing, saying, “a flame should be lighted at the start and kept bright until the end.” His lectures were fun and engaging, and he used experiments like filling soap bubbles with gases to show whether they were magnetic. He also encouraged his audiences to think deeply about science, asking questions like, “Why does ice float on water? Think about that and philosophize.” His lectures covered topics like chemistry and electricity, including: 1841: The Rudiments of Chemistry, 1843: First Principles of Electricity, 1848: The Chemical History of a Candle, 1851: Attractive Forces, 1853: Voltaic Electricity, 1854: The Chemistry of Combustion, 1855: The Distinctive Properties of the Common Metals, 1857: Static Electricity, 1858: The Metallic Properties, 1859: The Various Forces of Matter and their Relations to Each Other.

Commemorations

A statue of Michael Faraday stands in Savoy Place, near Victoria Embankment in London, outside the Institution of Engineering and Technology. The Faraday Memorial, designed by architect Rodney Gordon and completed in 1961, is located at the Elephant & Castle roundabout, close to Faraday’s birthplace in Newington Butts, London. Faraday School is on Trinity Buoy Wharf, where his workshop remains above the Chain and Buoy Store, next to London’s only lighthouse. Faraday Gardens is a small park in Walworth, London, near his birthplace at Newington Butts. It is part of the local council ward named Faraday in the London Borough of Southwark. Michael Faraday Primary School is located on the Aylesbury Estate in Walworth.

A building at London South Bank University, which houses the university’s electrical engineering departments, is called the Faraday Wing because it is near Faraday’s birthplace in Newington Butts. A hall at Loughborough University was named after Faraday in 1960. Near the entrance to its dining hall is a bronze sculpture showing the symbol of an electrical transformer, and inside the hall, a portrait of Faraday hangs in his honor. An eight-story building at the University of Edinburgh’s science and engineering campus is named for Faraday, as is a recently built student hall at Brunel University, the main engineering building at Swansea University, and the instructional and experimental physics building at Northern Illinois University. The former UK Faraday Station in Antarctica was also named after him.

Without such freedom, there would have been no Shakespeare, no Goethe, no Newton, no Faraday, no Pasteur, and no Lister.

Streets named after Faraday can be found in many British cities, including London, Glenrothes, Swindon, Basingstoke, Nottingham, Whitby, Kirkby, Crawley, Newbury, Swansea, Aylesbury, and Stevenage, as well as in France (Paris), Germany (Berlin-Dahlem, Hermsdorf), Canada (Quebec City, Quebec; Deep River, Ontario; Ottawa, Ontario), the United States (The Bronx, New York; Reston, Virginia), Australia (Carlton, Victoria), and New Zealand (Hawke’s Bay).

A Royal Society of Arts blue plaque, unveiled in 1876, honors Faraday at 48 Blandford Street in London’s Marylebone district. From 1991 to 2001, Faraday’s portrait appeared on the reverse of Series E £20 banknotes issued by the Bank of England. He was shown giving a lecture at the Royal Institution using a magneto-electric spark apparatus. In 2002, Faraday was ranked number 22 in the BBC’s list of the 100 Greatest Britons after a UK-wide vote.

Faraday has appeared on postage stamps issued by the Royal Mail. In 1991, as a pioneer of electricity, he was featured in their Scientific Achievements issue along with pioneers in computing (Charles Babbage), jet engines (Frank Whittle), and radar (Robert Watson-Watt). In 1999, under the title “Faraday’s Electricity,” he was included in their World Changers issue with Charles Darwin, Edward Jenner, and Alan Turing.

The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion is named after the scientist, who believed his faith was important to his scientific work. The institute’s logo is based on Faraday’s discoveries. It was founded in 2006 with a $2,000,000 grant from the John Templeton Foundation to support academic research, promote understanding of the relationship between science and religion, and increase public awareness of both subjects.

The Faraday Institution, an independent energy storage research organization established in 2017, is also named after Michael Faraday. It focuses on advancing battery science and technology, education, public engagement, and market research in the United Kingdom.

Faraday’s life and contributions to electromagnetism were the main topic of “The Electric Boy,” the tenth episode of the 2014 American science documentary series Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, which aired on Fox and the National Geographic Channel.

In an essay titled A Night in Pietramala, Aldous Huxley wrote, “He is always the natural philosopher. To discover truth is his sole aim and interest… even if I could be Shakespeare, I think I should still choose to be Faraday.” In a speech to the Royal Society, Margaret Thatcher called Faraday her “hero” and said, “The value of his work must be higher than the capitalisation of all the shares on the Stock Exchange!” She borrowed his bust from the Royal Institution and placed it in the hall of 10 Downing Street.

Awards named in Faraday's honour

To honor and remember his important scientific achievements, many organizations have established awards and honors named after him. These include:

• The IET Faraday Medal
• The Royal Society of London's Michael Faraday Prize
• The Institute of Physics Michael Faraday Medal and Prize
• The Royal Society of Chemistry Faraday Lectureship Prize

Gallery

• A portrait of young Michael Faraday, around 1826
• A picture of Michael Faraday in his laboratory, around the 1850s
• The study where Michael Faraday worked at the Royal Institution
• The living space Michael Faraday used at the Royal Institution
• Artist Harriet Jane Moore, who recorded Faraday's life in watercolors