Pete's Favourite Things

Michael faraday was born in Southwark London in 1791. He received only a basic education before going to work at a bookbinders. He used this opportunity to read widely and attended lectures at London institutions such as The Royal Society and developed a keen interest in science. He came to know a number of the leading scientists of the time and was eventually given a post as an assistant to Sir Humphrey Davey. He became a keen participator in experimental work and eventually began to conduct his own work and was awarded an honorary doctorate.

His work included

• establishing the concept of electromagnetic fields
• discovering benzene
• inventing an early form of bunsen burner
• discovering the laws of electrolysis
• establishing the effect of magnetism on light
• enabling the practical use of electricity

When the international system of physics nomenclature was devised Faraday’s work was honoured with the Farad, a measure of capacity to hold an electric charge and the Faraday, which is a unit of electric charge quantity.

He died in 1867 and this statue can be found in Savoy Place. It located adjacent to the Institute of Electrical Engineers, which was founded in 1871, shortly after his death and moved to this site in 1910, Today it is known as the Institution of Engineering and Technology.