Michael Faraday
1791–1867, London, England, Hampton Court, England
Electricity and magnetismElectrodynamics
English physicist and chemist who discovered electromagnetic induction, laying the experimental foundation for Maxwell's electromagnetic theory.
Born into a poor family with no formal education, Faraday taught himself while working as a bookbinder's apprentice, reading the scientific books he bound. He became an assistant to Humphry Davy at the Royal Institution and grew into the greatest experimentalist of his era. In 1831 he discovered that a changing magnetic field could generate an electric current — electromagnetic induction — the foundation of the modern generator.
Workplaces: Royal Institution
United Kingdom