Michael Faraday 1791 - 1867 (Working with Mr. Davey) Sir Davy’s public lectures at the Royal Institution were very popular and brought in revenue from wealthy patrons (since it relied on subscribers). One can imagine how Faraday, now a young man and well read in chemistry and electricity, would have longed to hear Davy. He had already been attending Wednesday night meetings of the City Philosophical Society, a group of working men interested in science. He kept voluminous notes of these meetings, which his boss often showed off to customers. One customer was so impressed, he gave Michael free tickets to four lectures by Sir Humphry Davy at the Royal Institution. The year was 1812; Faraday was now 21. He came early with ample note-taking materials and sat on the front row. Spellbound by all Davy presented on stage, Faraday wrote down everything, recopied it neatly at home, and bound it into a book 386 pages long. Months went by as Faraday continued to dream of becoming a scientist like Davy. His apprenticeship over, he took a job as a bookbinder across town, but found the business tedious and unsatisfying. He took a bold step. He wrote to Davy and asked for a job. With his request, he enclosed a bound volume of notes he had taken at the lectures. Davy’s reply was polite, but disappointing; there were no positions available. In October of that year, Davy was temporarily blinded by an explosion in the laboratory. Faraday managed to become his secretary for a few days, but when Davy recovered, there were still no positions available. A carriage pulled in front of Michael’s home one evening with a letter from Davy. Excitedly, Michael tore it open. It was a summons to appear at the Royal Institution the next day! Davy’s assistant had just been dismissed for involvement in a brawl, so now a position was available, and Davy had not forgotten the eager young man. Davy had discovered many things, but as he later admitted, his greatest discovery was Faraday. It would require a substantial pay cut to take the job, but Michael enthusiastically accepted. His position at first was little more than janitor: washing bottles, setting up for lectures, keeping records, repairing things, and assisting the master as needed. But to have the opportunity to learn at the feet of one of the greatest scientists in England was a science education par excellence for the disadvantaged young man. Faraday applied himself diligently. He learned everything he could, keeping detailed notes, studying books in the evening, and working long hours willingly. In short order, Michael became the equal of any chemist in the world. What’s more, in 1813, Davy invited him on come along as his personal secretary on a tour of Europe, including Italy, Switzerland, Holland and Germany, for a year and a half. Faraday had the opportunity to meet some of the most important scientists on the continent, including Volta and Ampere. It was not always easy; the talkative and snobbish Mrs. Davy had the habit of treating Michael like a servant, but overall, the experience was an invaluable supplement to Faraday’s ongoing education. as always, to be continued...
Posted on: Fri, 07 Mar 2014 00:26:40 +0000
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