Faraday , Michael , 1791-1867 , chemist and natural philosopher

Faraday was born in London in 1791. He was apprenticed to a bookbinder. He became deeply interested in chemistry and began to work for the retired Professor Humphrey Davy and for the Royal Institution, becoming its director in 1825. From the 1820s he conducted many experiments in electromagnetism and made great advances in the understanding of electricity and magnetism; his work laid the foundations that have made practical use of electricity possible. From 1829 until 1852 he was Professor of Chemistry at the Royal Military Academy in Woolwich, and from 1836 to 1863 he was a member of the University of London Senate. He married Sarah Bernard (1800-1879) in 1821 and they were both practising members of the Sandemanian Christian sect.