Editing Michael Faraday (section)

==Biography==
===Early life===
Michael Faraday was born on 22 September 1791 in [[Newington Butts]],<ref name=ODNB/> [[Surrey]], which is now part of the [[London Borough of Southwark]].<ref>For a concise account of Faraday's life including his childhood, see pp. 175–183 of ''[[Every Saturday]]: A Journal of Choice Reading'', Vol III published at Cambridge in 1873 by [[James R. Osgood|Osgood & Co.]]</ref> His family was not well off. His father, James, was a member of the [[Glasite]] sect of Christianity. James Faraday moved his wife, Margaret (née Hastwell),<ref>[[Walter Jerrold|Jerrold, Walter]] (2018). ''Michael Faraday: Man of Science''. Books on Demand. {{ISBN|3734011124}}. p. 11.</ref> and two children to London during the winter of 1790 from [[Outhgill]] in [[Westmorland]], where he had been an apprentice to the village blacksmith.<ref>The implication is that James discovered job opportunities elsewhere through membership of this sect. James joined the London meeting house on 20 February 1791, and moved his family shortly thereafter. See [[#Cantor|Cantor]], pp. 57–58.</ref>  Michael was born in the autumn of the following year, the third of four children. The young Michael Faraday, having only the most basic school education, had to [[Autodidacticism|educate himself]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Answers about Michael Faraday|url=https://www.answers.com/t/michael-faraday|access-date=23 February 2023|website=Answers|language=en}}</ref>

At the age of 14, he became an apprentice to [[George Riebau]], a local bookbinder and bookseller in Blandford Street.<ref>{{openplaque|19}}</ref> During his seven-year apprenticeship Faraday read many books, including [[Isaac Watts]]'s ''The Improvement of the Mind'', and he enthusiastically implemented the principles and suggestions contained therein.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Jenkins|first1=Alice|title=Michael Faraday's Mental Exercises: An Artisan Essay-Circle in Regency London|url=https://archive.org/details/michaelfaradaysm00jenk|url-access=limited|date=2008|publisher=Oxford University Press|page=[https://archive.org/details/michaelfaradaysm00jenk/page/n227 213]|isbn=978-1846311406}}</ref> During this period, Faraday held discussions with his peers in the City Philosophical Society, where he attended lectures about various scientific topics.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=James|first1=Frank|title=Michael Faraday, The City Philosophical Society and The Society of Arts.|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/41378130|url-access=limited|date=1992|issue=5426 |journal=RSA Journal|volume=140 |pages=192–199 |jstor=41378130 }}</ref> He also developed an interest in science, especially in electricity. Faraday was particularly inspired by the book ''Conversations on Chemistry'' by [[Jane Marcet]].<ref>{{cite episode
|transcript=No 741: Michael Faraday (transcript)
|transcript-url=http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi741.htm
|title=Michael Faraday |credits=Lienhard, John H.
|series=The Engines of Our Ingenuity
|series-link=The Engines of Our Ingenuity |airdate=1992 |number=741 |network=NPR
|station=KUHF-FM Houston}}</ref><ref>{{cite episode
|transcript=No 744: Jane Marcet's Books (transcript)
|transcript-url=http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi744.htm
|title=Jane Marcet's Books |credits=Lienhard, John H.
|series=The Engines of Our Ingenuity
|series-link=The Engines of Our Ingenuity |airdate=1992 |number=744 |network=NPR
|station=KUHF-FM Houston}}</ref>

===Adult life===
[[File:Portait of Michael Faraday2.png|thumb|upright|left|''[[Portrait of Michael Faraday]]'' by [[Thomas Phillips]], 1842]]
In 1812, at the age of 20 and at the end of his apprenticeship, Faraday attended lectures by the eminent English chemist [[Humphry Davy]] of the [[Royal Institution]] and the [[Royal Society]], and [[John Tatum (scientist)|John Tatum]], founder of the City Philosophical Society. Many of the tickets for these lectures were given to Faraday by [[William Dance]], who was one of the founders of the [[Royal Philharmonic Society]]. Faraday subsequently sent Davy a 300-page book based on notes that he had taken during these lectures. Davy's reply was immediate, kind, and favourable. In 1813, when Davy damaged his eyesight in an accident with [[nitrogen trichloride]], he decided to employ Faraday as an assistant. Coincidentally one of the Royal Institution's assistants, John Payne, was sacked and Sir Humphry Davy had been asked to find a replacement; thus he appointed Faraday as Chemical Assistant at the Royal Institution on 1 March 1813.<ref name="EncBrit"/> Very soon, Davy entrusted Faraday with the preparation of nitrogen trichloride samples, and they both were injured in an explosion of this very sensitive substance.<ref>[[#Thomas|Thomas]], p. 17</ref>

Faraday married Sarah Barnard (1800–1879) on 12 June 1821.<ref>The register at St. Faith-in-the-Virgin near [[St. Paul's Cathedral]], records 12 June as the date their licence was issued. The witness was Sarah's father, Edward. Their marriage was 16 years prior to the Marriage and Registration Act 1837. See [[#Cantor|Cantor]], p. 59.</ref> They met through their families at the [[Sandemanian]] church, and he confessed his faith to the Sandemanian congregation the month after they were married. They had no children.<ref name=ODNB>{{cite ODNB|id=9153|title=Faraday, Michael (1791–1867)|orig-year=2004|year=2011|last=James|first=Frank A. J. L.}}</ref> Faraday was a devout Christian; his Sandemanian denomination was an offshoot of the [[Church of Scotland]]. Well after his marriage, he served as [[deacon]] and for two terms as an [[Elder (Christianity)|elder]] in the meeting house of his youth. His church was located at Paul's Alley in the [[Barbican Estate|Barbican]]. This meeting house relocated in 1862 to [[Barnsbury]] Grove, [[London Borough of Islington|Islington]]; this North London location was where Faraday served the final two years of his second term as elder prior to his resignation from that post.<ref>[[#Cantor|Cantor]], pp. 41–43, 60–64, 277–280.</ref><ref>Paul's Alley was located 10 houses south of the [[Barbican Estate|Barbican]]. See p. 330 [[James Elmes|Elmes]]'s (1831) ''Topographical Dictionary of the British Metropolis''.</ref>  Biographers have noted that "a strong sense of the unity of God and nature pervaded Faraday's life and work."<ref>{{Cite journal| author=Baggott, Jim | title = The myth of Michael Faraday: Michael Faraday was not just one of Britain's greatest experimenters. A closer look at the man and his work reveals that he was also a clever theoretician | journal=New Scientist | date = 2 September 1991 | url = https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg13117874.600-the-myth-of-michael-faraday-michael-faraday-was-not-justone-of-britains-greatest-experimenters-a-closer-look-at-the-man-and-hiswork-reveals-that-he-was-also-a-clever-theoretician-.html | access-date =6 September 2008 }}</ref>

===Later life===
[[File:Three Fellows of the Royal Society offering the presidency o Wellcome L0022806.jpg|thumb|Three Fellows of the [[Royal Society]] offering the presidency to Faraday (right) in 1857]]
In June 1832, the [[University of Oxford]] granted Faraday an honorary [[Doctor of Civil Law]] degree. During his lifetime, he was offered a [[Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom|knighthood]] in recognition for his services to science, which he [[List of people who have declined a British honour|turned down]] on religious grounds, believing that it was against the word of the Bible to accumulate riches and pursue worldly reward, and stating that he preferred to remain "plain Mr Faraday to the end".<ref>West, Krista (2013). ''The Basics of Metals and Metalloids''. Rosen Publishing Group. {{ISBN|1-4777-2722-1}}. p. 81.</ref> Elected a [[Fellow of the Royal Society|Fellow]] of the [[Royal Society]] in 1824, he twice refused to become [[President of the Royal Society|President]].<ref>Todd Timmons (2012). "Makers of Western Science: The Works and Words of 24 Visionaries from Copernicus to Watson and Crick". p. 127.</ref> He became the first [[Fullerian Professor of Chemistry]] at the [[Royal Institution]] in 1833.<ref>{{cite news|title=Faraday appointed first Fullerian Professor of Chemistry|url=http://www.rigb.org/whats-on/events-2014/february/fact--faraday-appointment-fullerian-prof-of-chemistry|publisher=The Royal Institution|date=16 October 2017|access-date=16 October 2017|archive-date=5 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805222946/https://www.rigb.org/whats-on/events-2014/february/fact--faraday-appointment-fullerian-prof-of-chemistry|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1832, Faraday was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]].<ref name=AAAS>{{cite web |title=Book of Members, 1780–2010: Chapter F |url=http://www.amacad.org/publications/BookofMembers/ChapterF.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160527025245/http://www.amacad.org/publications/BookofMembers/ChapterF.pdf |archive-date=27 May 2016 |publisher=American Academy of Arts and Sciences |access-date=15 September 2016 |page=159 |url-status=dead }}</ref> He was elected a foreign member of the [[Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences]] in 1838. In 1840, he was elected to the [[American Philosophical Society]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=APS Member History|url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?year=1840;year-max=1840;smode=advanced;startDoc=21|access-date=9 April 2021|website=search.amphilsoc.org}}</ref> He was one of eight foreign members elected to the [[French Academy of Sciences]] in 1844.<ref>{{Cite book|author=Gladstone, John Hall|title=Michael Faraday|year=1872|publisher=Macmillan and Co.|location=London|page=[https://archive.org/details/michaelfaraday06gladgoog/page/n67 53]|url=https://archive.org/details/michaelfaraday06gladgoog|quote=Faraday French Academy.}}</ref> In 1849 he was elected as associated member to the Royal Institute of the Netherlands, which two years later became the [[Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences]] and he was subsequently made foreign member.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dwc.knaw.nl/biografie/pmknaw/?pagetype=authorDetail&aId=PE00000215 |title=M. Faraday (1791–1867) |publisher=Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences |access-date=17 July 2015}}</ref>

[[File:Faraday House 37 Hampton Court Road KT8 9BW.jpg|thumb|left|Faraday House in [[Hampton Court]] where Faraday lived between 1858 and 1867]]
Faraday had a [[nervous breakdown]] in 1839 but eventually returned to his investigations into electromagnetism.<ref>Bowden, Mary Ellen (1997). ''Chemical Achievers: The Human Face of the Chemical Sciences''. Chemical Heritage Foundation. {{ISBN|0-941901-12-2}}. p. 30.</ref> In 1848, as a result of representations by the [[Albert, Prince Consort|Prince Consort]], Faraday was awarded a [[grace and favour]] house in [[Hampton Court]] in Middlesex, free of all expenses and upkeep. This was the Master Mason's House, later called Faraday House, and now No. 37 Hampton Court Road. In 1858 Faraday retired to live there.<ref>[http://www.twickenham-museum.org.uk/detail.asp?ContentID=197 "Twickenham Museum on Faraday and Faraday House"]; twickenham-museum.org.uk. Accessed 14 August 2014.</ref>

[[File:Faraday Michael grave.jpg|thumb|upright|Faraday's grave at [[Highgate Cemetery]], London]]
Having provided a number of various service projects for the British government, when asked by the government to advise on the production of chemical weapons for use in the [[Crimean War]] (1853–1856), Faraday refused to participate, citing ethical reasons.<ref name="Croddy">{{Cite book|last1=Croddy|first1=Eric|last2=Wirtz|first2=James J.|title=Weapons of Mass Destruction: An Encyclopedia of Worldwide Policy, Technology, and History|publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]]|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZzlNgS70OHAC&q=Faraday++chemical+weapons+Crimean+War&pg=PA86|year=2005|page= 86|isbn=978-1-85109-490-5}}</ref>{{anchor|death}} He also refused offers to publish his lectures, believing that they would lose impact if not accompanied by the live experiments. His reply to an offer from a publisher in a letter ends with: "I have always loved science more than money & because my occupation is almost entirely personal I cannot afford to get rich."<ref name="Smith">{{cite news |title=Faraday to William Smith 3 January 1859 |url=https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/faraday/letters/Faraday3541 |access-date=12 July 2024 |website=Epilson.ac.uk}}</ref>

Faraday died at his house at [[Hampton Court]] on 25 August 1867, aged 75.<ref>{{openplaque|2429}}</ref> He had some years before turned down an offer of burial in [[Westminster Abbey]] upon his death, but he has a memorial plaque there, near [[Isaac Newton]]'s tomb.<ref>'The Abbey Scientists' Hall, A.R. p. 59: London; Roger & Robert Nicholson; 1966</ref> Faraday was interred in the [[dissenter]]s' (non-[[Anglicanism|Anglican]]) section of [[Highgate Cemetery]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Remarkable Physicists: From Galileo to Yukawa |date=2004 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=118–119}}</ref>