author
Michael Faraday
1791–1867
From a London bookbinder’s apprentice, he became one of the great experimental scientists of the 19th century. His work on electricity, magnetism, and chemistry helped lay the foundations of the modern world.
4 Audiobooks
Experimental Researches in Electricity, Volume 1
by Michael Faraday
Naturgeschichte einer Kerze : Sechs Vorlesungen für die Jugend; Mit einem Lebensabriß Faraday's
by Michael Faraday
On the various forces of nature and their relations to each other
by Michael Faraday
The Chemical History of a Candle
by Michael Faraday
About the author
Born in 1791 in Newington Butts, Surrey, Michael Faraday grew up with little formal schooling and was apprenticed to a bookbinder as a teenager. Reading the books that passed through the shop sparked his interest in science, and in 1813 he joined the Royal Institution, where he would build a remarkable career.
Faraday became famous for experiments that transformed the study of electromagnetism and electrochemistry. He discovered electromagnetic induction, showed how electricity could be generated from magnetism, and carried out important chemical work as well, including the isolation of benzene. Although he was not known for advanced mathematics, he was celebrated for clear thinking, careful experiments, and an ability to explain science in simple language.
He spent much of his life at the Royal Institution, where his lectures helped bring science to a wide public audience, especially young people through the Christmas Lectures. Faraday died in 1867, but his influence remains enormous: later scientists built directly on ideas and experiments that he helped bring into view.