Michael Faraday
The great Physicist Albert Einstein kept a picture on the wall of his study of the man he saw as providing the foundation of his own scientific work – Michael Faraday.
Michael Faraday was born in England in a lower-class family in the year 1791. When he was 14 years old, he was apprenticed to a bookbinder and bookseller. While working there, he began to take an interest in the books he was working on – especially those of a scientific nature. His book-binding work led him to interface with a number of people who influenced his scientific mind, including Ada Lovelace who, along with Charles Babbage, are credited with ‘programming’ the first computer; and Jane Marcet, who wrote educational works on Chemistry.
The owner of the book shop saw Michael’s interest in science and set up a small laboratory for him to conduct his own scientific experiments after-hours. When his seven-year apprenticeship came to an end, Michael applied for and was eventually accepted as an assistant at the eminent Royal Institution, in Westminster, which was dedicated to scientific research. There, Mr Faraday was able to indulge his scientific curiosity and over his 50+ year residency, rose to a position of great prominence within the Institution.
Michael made great discoveries in the fields Physics and Chemistry: he was the discoverer of Benzene, was instrumental in liquefying gases such as Chlorine, developed different iron alloys, and developed various types of glass used for different optical purposes.
Perhaps his most significant discoveries were in the field of electricity. Michael made great studies in electrolysis. He discovered electromagnetic induction – the ability for a current passing through one conductor to induce a current in another. This, along with similar discoveries, set the foundation for the invention of the electric motor and the invention of transformers and other devices allowing for the long-distance transport of electricity. He popularized modern electrical terminology such as anode, cathode, electrode, and ion.
Michael Faraday was a devout Christian, belonging to a Fundamentalist offshoot of the Church of Scotland. This very disciplined church believed strongly in the literal interpretation of the Scriptures and sought to live as close to the pattern of the New Testament church as possible. He was a deacon in his church, and served in the position of Elder for a few years – the latter roughly equivalent to an Associate Pastor. Those who knew him spoke of his character as simple, modest, and humble. He understood that his scientific discoveries would not allow him to ‘find’ God, but he was prompted in his study to better understand the beauty and symmetry of God’s creation. His favorite Biblical book was Job, because of how Job realized he could not find God by his own reasoning, but only through the Scriptures. He wrote that a Christian finds his guide for life in the Word of God, and direction through fear through grace and via the Scriptures.
As a very prominent scientist, Michael was able to make the unusual move from the lower-classes to rubbing elbows with the upper-crust of British society. He was consulted and honored by eminent scientists throughout Europe, and even received recognition from Queen Victoria herself. Despite this, he lived with his wife in a modest home on the grounds of the Institute and refused many honors, including a Knighthood and Presidency of the Royal Institute, stating that it was against Biblical teaching to pursue worldly reward and that he would rather to remain “plain Mr Faraday to the end.” Late in his life, when it was hinted to him that he was destined for burial in Westminster Abbey next to Sir Isaac Newton, he urged his family to resist it. In accordance with his wishes, after his death in 1867, he was given a simple burial in a common cemetery. Westminster Abbey did erect a plaque in his memory near the grave of Sir Isaac Newton, however.
https://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1801-1900/michael-faraday-11630518.html
http://silas.psfc.mit.edu/Faraday/
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