Michael Faraday and the Electrical Century

Icon Science

by Iwan Rhys Morus

The only scientist to appear on the British twenty pound note, Michael Faraday is one of the most recognisable names in the history of science. Faraday's forte was electricity, a revolutionary force in nineteenth-century society. The electric telegraph made mass-communication possible; hopeful inventors during the 1840s looked forward to the day when everything would be done by electricity. By the end of the century, electricity really was in the process of transforming everyday life. What was Faraday's role in all this? How did his science come to have such an impact on the Victorians' (and ultimately on our) lives? Iwan Morus tells the story of his upbringing in scientific London and his apprenticeship at the Royal Institution with the flamboyant chemist, Sir Humphry Davy, against the backdrop of a vibrant scientific culture at the centre of an Empire near the peak of its power.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, History

228 pages, Hardcover

First published May 6, 2004

About the author

Iwan Rhys Morus is professor of history and Welsh history at Prifysgol Aberystwyth University. He graduated in Natural Science from Cambridge University in 1985 before completing his PhD in History and Philosophy of Science there also.

Reviews

[Vito Hamza · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not-so-good as a biography book. The narrative is getting more confusing as you read half of it. Fortunately, it is saved by its epilogue which gives a good explanation of how Faraday triggered the industrial revolution.

[Gints Dreimanis · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little bit too functional and short.

[Muhammad Mahdi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and comprehensive biography of Michael Faraday

[Harsh Thaker · Rating 2 out of 5]

Content of the book is below expectations.

[Brian Metters · Rating 5 out of 5]

During my university years in the 60s and 70s my doctoral research involved working in the field of electrochemistry and so knowledge of Faraday and his work was essential. What I didn’t read much about though was his personal upbringing and his life in general, especially his family’s struggles during the war with France and a period of high corn prices meaning that he was forced to subsist on a single loaf of bread a week. His education can certainly be described as "basic" too.
His stroke of luck was in getting a job when he was 13 as an errand boy for a bookseller and he started to read as many science books he could get his hands on. He started doing his own experiments too.
This book is an interesting read for anyone interested in not only the life of one of our greatest scientists, but also the times in which he lived surrounded by other great scientists and the "machinations" of the Royal Society. Faraday became an apprentice to Humphrey Davy from whom he learned a great deal and had many doors opened for him. However Michael Faraday was NOT a "gentleman chemist" and this, together with his view about science and its utility, ultimately resulted in his being denied entry to the RS eleven times…… probably undermined by Davy himself!
The book is well structured chronologically, is readable by non scientists, and brilliantly describes the characters of so many scientists of the day. Politics plays a part too as does the rivalries between many of the players. We owe these scientists a great deal for our standard of living today and they need to be remembered and honoured without any "presentism" clouding our judgement.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good overall discussion of the life and times of Michael Faraday. It went off on tangents at times and repeated itself though.