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<!-- NOTE This article uses British English spelling -->{{Infobox_Scientist 
|name =  Michael Faraday
 |image = M_Faraday_Th_Phillips_oil_1842.jpg
 |image_width = 200px
 |caption = Michael Faraday, portrait by [[Thomas Phillips]] c1841-1842<ref> See [http://www.npg.org.uk/live/search/portrait.asp?mkey=mw02170 National Portrait gallery NPG 269] </ref>
 |birth_date = {{birth date|1791|9|22|mf=y}}
 |birth_place = [[South London]], [[England]]—
 |death_date = {{death date and age|1867|8|25|1791|9|22|mf=y}}
 |death_place = [[Hampton Court]], [[London]], [[England]]
 |residence =  [[England]] 
 |nationality = [[United Kingdom|British]] 
 |field = [[Physics]] and [[Chemistry]]
 |work_institutions = [[Royal Institution]]
 |alma_mater = 
 |academic_mentor =
 [[Electromagnetic induction]], [[Electrochemistry]], [[Faraday effect]]
 |prizes = [[Royal Medal]] (1846)
 |religion = [[Sandemanian]]
 |footnotes = Faraday did not attend a university, but [[Humphry Davy]] can be considered his scientific mentor in light of their scientific collaboration over many years.}}
'''Michael Faraday''', [[Fellow of the Royal Society|FRS]] ([[September 22]], [[1791]] – [[August 25]], [[1867]]) was an  [[England|English]] [[chemist]] and [[physicist]] (or ''[[natural philosopher]]'', in the [[terminology]] of that time) who contributed to the fields of [[electromagnetism]] and [[electrochemistry]].

Faraday studied the [[magnetism|magnetic]] [[field (physics)|field]] around a [[Electrical conductor|conductor]] carrying a DC [[electric current]], and established the basis for the magnetic field concept in physics. He discovered [[electromagnetic induction]], [[diamagnetism]] and [[electrolysis]]. He established that [[magnetism]] could affect [[Ray (optics)|rays]] of [[light]] and that there was an underlying relationship between the two phenomena.<ref name="EncBrit">[http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Michael_Faraday Michael Faraday] entry at the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica hosted by LovetoKnow Retrieved January 2007.</ref><ref name="IEEUK">[http://www.iee.org/TheIEE/Research/Archives/Histories&Biographies/Faraday.cfm Institution of Engineering and Technology, London] Archives, Michael Faraday</ref> His [[invention]]s of [[electric motor|electromagnetic rotary devices]] formed the foundation of electric motor technology, and it was largely due to his efforts that [[electricity]] became viable for use in technology. 

As a chemist, Faraday discovered [[benzene]], investigated the [[clathrate hydrate]] of chlorine, invented an early form of the [[bunsen burner]] and the system of [[oxidation number]]s, and popularized terminology such as [[anode]], [[cathode]], [[electrode]], and [[ion]]. 

Although Faraday received little formal education and knew little of higher [[mathematics]], such as calculus, he was one of the most influential [[scientist]]s in history. Some historians<ref>{{cite book | last =Russell | first = Colin | authorlink = | coauthors = | title= Michael Faraday: Physics and Faith | publisher=Oxford University Press | date=2000 | location=New York | pages= | url = | doi = | id =  }}</ref> of science refer to him as the best [[experimentalist]] in the history of science.<ref>[http://www.bath.ac.uk/news/2006/10/25/gulp-ford251006.html "best [[experimentalist]] in the history of science."] Quoting Dr Peter Ford, from the University of Bath’s Department of Physics. Accessed January 2007.</ref> The [[SI]] unit of [[capacitance]], the [[farad]], is named after him, as is the [[Faraday constant]], the charge on a [[mole (unit)|mole]] of [[electron]]s (about 96,485 [[coulomb]]s).  [[Faraday's law of induction]] states that a [[magnetic field]] changing in time creates a proportional [[electromotive force]].

Faraday was the first and foremost ''Fullerian Professor of Chemistry'' at the [[Royal Institution of Great Britain]], a position to which he was appointed for life.

== Early life ==
[[Image:Michael Faraday - Project Gutenberg eText 13103.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Michael Faraday from a photograph by John Watkins, British Library]]

Michael Faraday was born in [[Newington Butts]], part of [[South London]], [[England]]. His family was not well off. His father, James, was a member of the [[Sandemanian]] sect of Christianity. James Faraday had come to London ca 1790 from [[Outhgill]] in [[Westmorland]], where he had been the village [[blacksmith]]. The young Michael Faraday, one of four children, having only the most basic of school educations, had to largely educate himself.<ref>"Michael Faraday."  History of Science and Technology. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. [http://www.answers.com/topic/michael-faraday Answers.com 4 June 2007]</ref> At fourteen he became apprenticed to a local bookbinder and bookseller [[George Riebau]] and, during his seven-year apprenticeship, he read many books, including [[Isaac Watts]]' ''The Improvement of the Mind'', and he 
enthusiastically implemented the principles and suggestions contained therein. He developed an interest in science and specifically in electricity. In particular, he was inspired by the book ''[[Conversations in Chemistry]]'' by [[Jane Marcet]].<ref>{{cite episode 

|transcripturl=http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi744.htm 
|title=Jane Marcet's Books |credits=John H. Lienhard 
|series=The Engines of Our Ingenuity 
|serieslink=The Engines of Our Ingenuity |airdate=1992 |number=744 |network=NPR 
|station=KUHF-FM Houston|accessdate=2007-10-02}}</ref>
 
At the age of twenty, in 1812, at the end of his apprenticeship, Faraday attended lectures by the eminent English [[chemist]]  [[Humphry Davy]] of the [[Royal Institution]] and [[Royal Society]], and [[John Tatum]], founder of the [[City Philosophical Society]]. Many tickets for these lectures were given to Faraday by [[William Dance]] (one of the founders of the [[Royal Philharmonic Society]]). Afterwards, Faraday sent Davy a three hundred page book based on notes taken during the lectures. Davy's reply was immediate, kind, and favorable. When Davy damaged his eyesight in an accident with [[nitrogen trichloride]], he decided to employ Faraday as a secretary. When John Payne, one of the Royal Institution's assistants, was fired, Sir Humphry Davy was asked to find a replacement. He appointed Faraday as Chemical Assistant at the Royal Institution on [[March 1]].<ref name="EncBrit"/>
[[Image:Humphry Davy Engraving 1830.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Sir Humphry Davy, 1830 engraving based on the painting by Sir Thomas Lawrence (1769-1830)]]
In the class-based English society of the time, Faraday was not considered a gentleman. When Davy went on a long tour to the continent in 1813-5, his valet did not wish to go. Faraday was going as Davy's scientific assistant, and was asked to act as Davy's valet until a replacement could be found in Paris. Faraday was forced to fill the role of valet as well as assistant throughout the trip. Davy's wife, [[Jane Apreece]], refused to treat Faraday as an equal (making him travel outside the coach, eat with the servants, etc.) and generally made Faraday so miserable that he contemplated returning to England alone and giving up science altogether. The trip did, however, give him access to the European scientific elite and a host of stimulating ideas.<ref name="EncBrit"/>

His sponsor and mentor was [[John 'Mad Jack' Fuller]], who created the [[Fullerian Professorship of Chemistry]] at the Royal Institution.  

Faraday was a devout Christian and a member of the small [[Sandemanian]] denomination, an offshoot of the [[Church of Scotland]]. He later served two terms as an elder in the group's church.

Faraday married Sarah Barnard (1800-1879) on [[June 2]], [[1821]], although they would never have children. They met through attending the Sandemanian church.

He was elected a member of the Royal Society in 1824, appointed director of the laboratory in 1825; and in 1833 he was appointed Fullerian professor of chemistry in the institution for life, without the obligation to deliver lectures.

== Scientific achievements ==
=== Chemistry ===

[[Image:Faraday title page.jpg|thumb|right|upright|The title page of ''[[The Chemical History of a Candle]]'' (1861)]] 

Faraday's earliest chemical work was as an assistant to Humphry Davy. Faraday made a special study of [[chlorine]], and discovered two new chlorides of [[carbon]]. He also made the first rough experiments on the diffusion of gases, a phenomenon first pointed out by [[John Dalton]], the physical importance of which was more fully brought to light by [[Thomas Graham (chemist)|Thomas Graham]] and [[Joseph Loschmidt]]. He succeeded in liquefying several gases; he investigated the alloys of [[steel]], and produced several new kinds of glass intended for optical purposes. A specimen of one of these heavy glasses afterwards became historically important as the substance in which Faraday detected the rotation of the plane of polarisation of light when the glass was placed in a magnetic field, and also as the substance which was first repelled by the poles of the magnet. He also endeavoured, with some success, to make the general methods of chemistry, as distinguished from its results, the subject of special study and of popular exposition.

He invented an early form of what was to become the [[Bunsen burner]], which is used almost universally in science laboratories as a convenient source of heat.<ref>{{cite journal  | last =Jensen  | first =William B.  | authorlink =  | coauthors =  | title =The Origin of the Bunsen Burner | journal = Journal of Chemical Education  | volume = 82  | issue = 4 | pages =  | publisher =  | date =2005  | url = http://jchemed.chem.wisc.edu/HS/Journal/Issues/2005/Apr/clicSubscriber/V82N04/p518.pdf}}</ref><ref>See page 127 of Faraday's ''Chemical Manipulation, Being Instructions to Students in Chemistry'' (1827)</ref>

Faraday worked extensively in the field of [[chemistry]], discovering chemical substances such as [[benzene]] (which he called bicarburet of hydrogen), inventing the system of [[oxidation number]]s, and liquefying gases such as chlorine. In 1820 Faraday reported on the first syntheses of compounds made from carbon and chlorine, [[hexachloroethane|C<sub>2</sub>Cl<sub>6</sub>]] and [[tetrachloroethylene|C<sub>2</sub>Cl<sub>4</sub>]], and published his results the following year.<ref>{{cite journal | author = Faraday, Michael | title = On two new Compounds of Chlorine and Carbon, and on a new Compound of Iodine, Carbon, and Hydrogen | journal = Philosophical Transactions | year = 1821 | volume = | pages = 47 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last = Faraday | first = Michael | authorlink = | title = Experimental Researches in Chemistry and Physics | publisher = Richard Taylor and William Francis | date= 1859 | location = London | pages = 33&ndash;53}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last = Williams | first = L. Pearce | authorlink = | coauthors = | title= Michael Faraday: A Biography | publisher = Basic Books | date= 1965 | location = New York | pages = 122&ndash;123}}</ref> Faraday also determined the composition of the chlorine [[clathrate hydrate]], which had been discovered by Humphry Davy in 1810.<ref>{{cite journal | author = Faraday, Michael | title = On Hydrate of Chlorine | journal = Quartly Journal of Science | year = 1823 | volume = 15| pages = 71 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last = Faraday | first = Michael | authorlink = | title = Experimental Researches in Chemistry and Physics | publisher = Richard Taylor and William Francis | date= 1859 | location = London | pages = 81&ndash;84}}</ref>  

Faraday also discovered the laws of [[electrolysis]] and popularised terminology such as [[anode]], [[cathode]], [[electrode]], and [[ion]], terms largely created by [[William Whewell]].  

Faraday was the first to report what later came to be called metallic [[nanoparticles]]. In 1847 he discovered that the optical properties of gold [[colloid]]s differed from those of the corresponding bulk metal. This was probably the first reported observation of the effects of [[quantum]] size, and might be considered to be the birth of [[nanoscience]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nanogallery.info/nanogallery/?ipg=126 |title=The Birth of Nanotechnology |accessdate=2007-07-25 |last=|first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |year=2006 |month= |format= |work= |publisher=Nanogallery.info |pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote="Faraday made some attempt to explain what was causing the vivid coloration in his gold mixtures, saying that known phenomena seemed to indicate that a mere variation in the size of [gold] particles gave rise to a variety of resultant colors." }}</ref>

=== Electricity ===

Faraday's greatest work was probably with electricity and magnetism. The first experiment which he recorded was the construction of a [[voltaic pile]] with seven halfpence pieces, stacked together with seven disks of sheet zinc, and six pieces of paper moistened with salt water. With this pile he decomposed sulphate of magnesia (first letter to Abbott, [[July 12]], [[1812]]). 

[[Image:Faraday photograph ii.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Michael Faraday holding a glass bar of the type he used in 1845 to show that magnetism can affect light. <small>Detail of an engraving by [[Henry Adlard]], based on an earlier photograph by Maull & Polyblank ''ca.'' 1857. </small><ref>See [http://www.npg.org.uk/live/search/person.asp?LinkID=mp01529 National Portrait Gallery, UK] </ref>]]

In [[1821]], soon after the Danish physicist and chemist, [[Hans Christian Ørsted]] discovered the phenomenon of [[electromagnetism]], Davy and British scientist [[William Hyde Wollaston]] tried but failed to design an [[electric motor]].<ref name="IEEUK"/> Faraday, having discussed the problem with the two men, went on to build two devices to produce what he called electromagnetic rotation: a continuous circular motion from the circular magnetic force around a wire and a wire extending into a pool of [[mercury (element)|mercury]] with a magnet placed inside would rotate around the magnet if supplied with current from a chemical battery. The latter device is known as a [[homopolar motor]]. These experiments and inventions form the foundation of modern electromagnetic technology. Faraday published his results without acknowledging his debt to Wollaston and Davy, and the resulting controversy caused Faraday to withdraw from electromagnetic research for several years.
At this stage, there is also evidence to suggest that Davy may have been trying to slow Faraday’s rise as a scientist (or natural philosopher as it was known then). In 1825, for instance, Davy set him onto optical glass experiments, which progressed for six years with no great results. It was not until Davy's death, in 1829, that Faraday stopped these fruitless tasks and moved on to endeavors that were more worthwhile. Two years later, in [[1831]], he began his great series of experiments in which he discovered [[electromagnetic induction]]. [[Joseph Henry]] likely discovered [[Electromagnetic induction|self-induction]] a few months earlier and both may have been anticipated by the work of [[Francesco Zantedeschi]] in Italy in 1829 and 1830.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Catholic_Encyclopedia_%281913%29/Francesco_Zantedeschi  |title=Francesco Zantedeschi article at the Catholic Encyclopedia|accessdate=2007-06-16 |last=Brother Potamian |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |year=1913  |month= |format= |work= |publisher=Wikisource  |pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= }}</ref>

Faraday's breakthrough came when he wrapped two insulated coils of wire around an iron ring,, and found that upon passing a current through one coil, a momentary current was induced in the other coil.<ref name="IEEUK"/>  This phenomenon is known as [[mutual induction]]. The iron ring-coil apparatus is still on display at the Royal Institution. In subsequent experiments he found that if he moved a magnet through a loop of wire, an electric current flowed in the wire. The current also flowed if the loop was moved over a stationary magnet. His demonstrations established that a changing magnetic field produces an electric field. This relation was mathematically modelled by [[Faraday's law of induction|Faraday's law]], which subsequently became one of the four [[Maxwell's equations|Maxwell equations]]. These in turn have evolved into the generalisation known today as [[Field theory (physics)|field theory]]. 

[[Image:Faraday-Millikan-Gale-1913.jpg|thumb|upright|right|Faraday in later life ]]
 
Faraday later used the principle to construct the electric [[Electrical generator#Dynamo|dynamo]], the ancestor of modern power generators.

In 1839 he completed a series of experiments aimed at investigating the fundamental nature of electricity. Faraday used "[[Electrostatics|static]]",  [[Battery (electricity)|batteries]], and "[[Bioelectromagnetism|animal electricity]]" to produce the phenomena of electrostatic attraction, [[electrolysis]], [[Electromagnetism|magnetism]], etc. He concluded that, contrary to scientific opinion of the time, the divisions between the various "kinds" of electricity were illusory. Faraday instead proposed that only a single "electricity" exists, and the changing values of quantity and intensity (voltage and charge) would produce different groups of phenomena.<ref name="IEEUK"/>

Near the end of his career Faraday proposed that electromagnetic forces extended into the empty space around the conductor. This idea was rejected by his fellow scientists, and Faraday did not live to see this idea eventually accepted. Faraday's concept of lines of flux emanating from charged bodies and magnets provided a way to visualise electric and magnetic fields. That mental model was crucial to the successful development of electromechanical devices which dominated engineering and industry for the remainder of the 19th century.

In 1845, he discovered the phenomenon that he named [[diamagnetism]], and what is now called the [[Faraday effect]]: The plane of [[polarization|polarisation]] of linearly polarised light propagated through a material medium can be rotated by the application of an external magnetic field aligned in the propagation direction. He wrote in his notebook, "I have at last succeeded in ''illuminating a magnetic curve'' or ''[[line of force]]'' and in ''magnetising a ray of light''". This established that magnetic force and light were related. 

In his work on static electricity, Faraday demonstrated that the charge only resided on the exterior of a charged conductor, and exterior charge had no influence on anything enclosed within a conductor. This is because the exterior charges redistribute such that the interior fields due to them cancel. This shielding effect is used in what is now known as a [[Faraday cage]].

Faraday was an excellent experimentalist who conveyed his ideas in clear and simple language. However, his mathematical abilities did not extend as far as trigonometry or any but the simplest algebra. It was [[James Clerk Maxwell]] who took the work of Faraday, and others, and consolidated it with a set of equations that lie at the base of all modern theories of electromagnetic phenomena.  On Faraday's uses of the [[lines of force|lines of force]], James Clerk Maxwell wrote that they show Faraday "to have been in reality a mathematician of a very high order--one from whom the mathematicians of the future may derive valuable and fertile methods."<ref name="MaxwellSciPapVol1">[http://books.google.com/books?id=RaqhIhxqLiwC&pg=PA360&lpg=PA360&dq=%22to+have+been+in+reality+a+mathematician%22&source=web&ots=CUK1Be_o6H&sig=R8OycQBKt7eOLEgWVt328XdHqv8&hl=en The Scientific Papers of James Clerk Maxwell Volume 1] page 360; Courier Dover 2003, ISBN 0486495604</ref>

== Public service ==
[[Image:FaradayFatherThames.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Michael Faraday meets Father Thames, from ''Punch'' ([[July 21]], [[1855]])]]
Beyond his scientific research into areas such as chemistry, electricity, and magnetism at the Royal Institution, Faraday undertook numerous, and often time-consuming, service projects for private enterprise and the British government. This work included investigations of explosions in [[coal mine]]s, being an [[expert witness]] in court, and the preparation of high-quality optical [[glass]]. In 1846, together with [[Charles Lyell]], he produced a lengthy and detailed report on a serious [[explosion]] in the colliery at [[Haswell County Durham]] which killed 95 miners. Their report was a meticulous [[forensic investigation]] and  indicated that [[coal dust]] contributed to the severity of the explosion. The report should have warned coal owners of the hazard of coal dust explosions, but the risk was ignored for over 60 years until the  [[Senghenydd Colliery Disaster]] of 1913.

As a respected scientist in a nation with strong maritime interests, Faraday spent extensive amounts of time on projects such as the construction and operation of [[Lighthouse|light house]]s and protecting the bottoms of ships from [[corrosion]]. 

Faraday also was active in what would now be called [[environmental science]], or engineering. He investigated industrial pollution at [[Swansea]] and was consulted on air pollution at the [[Royal Mint]]. In July of 1855, Faraday wrote a letter to [[The Times]] on the subject of the foul condition of the [[River Thames]], which resulted in an oft-reprinted cartoon in [[Punch]].  (See also [[The Great Stink]].)

Faraday assisted with planning and judging of exhibits for the [[Great Exhibition]] of 1851 in London. He also advised the [[National Gallery, London|National Gallery]] on the cleaning and protection of its art collection, and served on the National Gallery Site Commission in 1857.  

Education was another area of service for Faraday. He lectured on the topic in 1854 at the Royal Institution, and in 1862 he appeared before a Public Schools Commission to give his views on education in Great Britain. Faraday also weighed in, negatively, on the public's fascination with table-turning, mesmerism, and seances, chastising both the public and the nation's educational system.<ref>See ''The Illustrated London News'', July 1853, for Faraday's comments. </ref>

== Later life ==
[[Image:Faraday Michael old age.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Faraday in old age]]
In June of 1832, the [[University of Oxford]] granted Faraday a Doctor of Civil Law degree (honorary). During his lifetime, Faraday rejected a [[knighthood]] and twice refused to become [[President of the Royal Society]].  

In 1848, as a result of representations by the [[Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Prince Consort]], Michael Faraday was awarded a [[grace and favour]] house in  [[Hampton Court]], [[Surrey]] free of all expenses or 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], Accessed June 2006 </ref>

Faraday died at his house at [[Hampton Court]] on [[August 25]], [[1867]]. He turned down burial in [[Westminster Abbey]], but he has a memorial plaque there, near [[Isaac Newton]]'s tomb. Faraday was interred in the Sandemanian plot in [[Highgate Cemetery]].

== Miscellaneous ==
[[Image:Faraday Michael grave.jpg|thumb|upright|right|Michael Faraday's grave at [[Highgate Cemetery]]]]

Faraday gave a successful series of lectures on the chemistry and physics of flames at the [[Royal Institution]], entitled ''[[The Chemical History of a Candle]]''. This was one of the earlier [[Royal Institution Christmas Lectures|Christmas lectures]] for young people, which are still given each year. Between 1827 and 1860, Faraday gave the Christmas lecture a record nineteen times.

Faraday refused to participate in the production of chemical weapons for the [[Crimean War]] citing ethical reasons.

[[Image:Michael Faraday statue AB.jpg|thumb|left|upright|''Michael Faraday'' - statue in Savoy Place, London. <br><small>Sculptor [[John Henry Foley]] RA </small>]]

A statue of Faraday stands in Savoy Place, London, outside the [[Institution of Electrical Engineers]].

A recently built hall of accommodation at [[Brunel University]] is named after Faraday.

A hall at [[Loughborough University]] was named after Faraday in 1960. Near the entrance to its dining hall is a bronze casting, which depicts the symbol of an electrical [[transformer]], and inside there hangs a portrait, both in Faraday's honour.

A five-story building at the [[University of Edinburgh]]'s science campus is named for Faraday. 

Faraday's picture was printed on British £20 [[British banknotes|banknotes]] from 1991 until 2001.<ref>[http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/about/withdrawn_notes.htm Bank of England, ''Withdrawn Notes'']</ref>

The former UK [[Faraday Atmospheric Research Station]] in Antarctica was named after him.

Faraday was one of the then eight foreign members of the [[French Academy of Sciences]].

== Writings by Faraday ==
[[Image:Faraday-signature.jpg|thumb|right|Michael Faraday's signature]]
Faraday's books, with the exception of ''Chemical Manipulation'', were collections of scientific papers or transcriptions of lectures.<ref>See page 220 of Hamilton's ''A Life of Discovery: Michael Faraday, Giant of the Scientific Revolution'' (2002)</ref>  Since his death, Faraday's diary has been published, as have several large volumes of his letters and Faraday's journal from his travels with Davy in 1813 - 1815.
* ''Chemical Manipulation, Being Instructions to Students in Chemistry'', John Murray, 1st ed. 1827, [http://www.archive.org/details/chemicalmanipula00fararich 2nd ed. 1830], [http://books.google.com/books?id=apjfZ3P8GdQC&pg=PA1&dq=chemical+manipulation#PPP9,M1 3rd ed. 1842]
* ''[http://www.archive.org/details/experimentalrese00faraiala Experimental Researches in Electricity, vols. i. and ii.]'', Richard and John Edward Taylor, vols. i. and ii.. 1844 and 1847; vol. iii., 1844; vol. iii. Richard Taylor and William Francis, 1855
* ''[http://www.archive.org/details/experimentalrese00fararich Experimental Researches in Chemistry and Physics]'', Taylor and Francis, 1859
* ''A Course of Six Lectures on the Chemical History of a Candle'', edited by W. Crookes, Griffin, Bohn & Co., 1861 [http://www.archive.org/details/chemicalhistoryo00faraiala PDF/DjVu] from [[Internet Archive]] 
* '' [http://www.archive.org/details/onvariousforceso00farauoft On the Various Forces in Nature]'', edited by W. Crookes, Chatto & Windus, 1873
* Faraday's ''Diary'' edited by T. Martin was published in eight volumes, 1932 - 1936
* ''Curiosity Perfectly Satisfyed: Faraday's Travels in Europe 1813-1815'', edited by B. Bowers and L. Symons, Institution of Electrical Engineers, 1991
* ''The Correspondence of Michael Faraday'', edited by F. A. J. L. James, INSPEC, Inc., volume 1, 1991; volume 2, 1993; volume 3, 1996; volume 4, 1999
* [http://www.archive.org/details/courseofsixlectu00fararich Course of six lectures on the various forces of matter, and their relations to each other] London ; Glasgow : R. Griffin, 1860.
* [http://www.archive.org/details/liquefactionofga00fararich The liquefaction of gases] Edinburgh: W. F. Clay, 1896.
* [http://www.archive.org/details/lettersoffaraday00fararich The letters of Faraday and Schoenbein 1836-1862. With notes, comments and references to contemporary letters] London: Williams &amp; Norgate 1899.

== Quotations ==
{{Wikiquote}}
* "Nothing is too wonderful to be true if it be consistent with the laws of nature, and in such things as these, experiment is the best test of such consistency."<ref>From the entry of 19 March 1849 in Faraday's ''Diary''</ref>
* "Work. Finish. Publish." — his advice to the young [[William Crookes]]
* "The important thing is to know how to take all things quietly."
* Regarding the hereafter, "Speculations? I have none. I am resting on certainties. I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day."
* "Next Sabbath day (the 22nd) I shall complete my 70th year. I can hardly think of myself so old."
*Above the doorways of the Pfahler Hall of Science at [[Ursinus College]] in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, there is a stone inscription of a quote attributed to Michael Faraday which reads "but still try, for who knows what is possible..."<ref> See [http://www.flickr.com/photos/monyca/17917765/in/pool-ursinus/ ''but still try'']</ref>
* "One day sir, you may [[tax]] it." Faraday's reply to [[William Gladstone]], then British Minister of Finance, when asked of the practical value of electricity.
* "If you would cause your view ... to be acknowledged by scientific men; you would do a great service to science. If you would even get them to say yes or no to your conclusions it would help to clear the future progress. I believe some hesitate because they do not like their thoughts disturbed."<ref>From ''Life and Letters'', 2:389.</ref>

== See also ==
{{wikisource author}}
{{commons|Michael Faraday}}
* [[Faraday rotator]]
* [[Faraday Cage]]
* [[Homopolar generator]]
* [[Faraday constant]]
* [[Faraday's law of induction]]
* [[Faraday]] (Unit of electrical charge)
* [[Farad]] (Unit of electrical capacitance)
* [[Lines of force]]

== Notes and references ==
{{reflist|2}}

== Further reading ==
===Biographies===

* {{cite book | author = Bence Jones, Henry | title = The Life and Letters of Faraday| year = 1870 | publisher = J. B. Lippincott and Company | location = Philadelphia | url = http://books.google.com/books?id=YzuCdNmu5soC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Faraday&as_brr=1#PPP5,M2 }}

* {{cite book | author = Cantor, Geoffrey | title = Michael Faraday, Sandemanian and Scientist | year = 1991 | publisher = Macmillian | location = | isbn = 0-333-55077}}

* {{cite book | author =  Gladstone, J. H. | title = Michael Faraday | year = 1872 | publisher = Macmillan | location = London | url = http://books.google.com/books?id=pbs4AAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Faraday&as_brr=1#PPP8,M2}}

* {{cite book | author = Hamilton, James | title = Faraday: The Life | year = 2002 | location = London | publisher = Harper Collins | isbn = 0-00-716376-2}}

* {{cite book | author = Hamilton, James | title = A Life of Discovery: Michael Faraday, Giant of the Scientific Revolution | year = 2004 | location = New York publisher = Random House | isbn = 1-4000-6016-8}}

* {{cite book | author =  Thompson, Silvanus | title = Michael Faraday, His Life and Work | year = 1901 | publisher = Cassell and Company | place = London | isbn = 1-4179-7036-7 | url = http://books.google.com/books?id=HKf5g3qYYz8C&printsec=frontcover&dq=Silvanus+Thompson+faraday&as_brr=1#PPR3,M2 }}

: * Reprinted in 2005 by Adamant Media Corporation  

* {{cite book | author = Tyndall, John | title = Faraday as a Discoverer | year = 1868 | publisher = : Longmans, Green, and Company | location = London | edition = | url = http://www.archive.org/details/faradayasdiscove00tyndrich}}

* {{cite book | author = Williams, L. Pearce | title = Michael Faraday: A Biography | year = 1965 | publisher = Basic Books | location = New York }}

* The British Electrical and Allied Manufacturers Association (1931). ''Faraday''. R. & R. Clark, Ltd., Edinburgh, 1931.

===Others===

* {{cite book | author = Agassi, Joseph | title = Faraday as a Natural Philosopher | year = 1971 | publisher = University of Chicago Press | location = Chicago | isbn = }}

* {{cite book | author = Ames, Joseph Sweetman (Ed.) | title = The Discovery of Induced Electric Currents | volume = 2 | year = c1900 | publisher = American Book Company | location = New York | isbn = }}

* {{cite book | author = Gooding, David (Ed.) | title = Faraday Rediscovered: Essays on the Life and Work of Michael Faraday, 1791-1867 | year = 1985 | publisher = Macmillan/Stockton | location = London/New York | isbn = }} 

* {{cite book | author = Thomas, John Meurig  | title = Michael Faraday and the Royal Institution: The Genius of Man and Place | year = 1991 | publisher = Hilger| location = Bristol | isbn = 0-7503-0145-7}}

== External links ==
{{wikiquote}}

===Biographies===
* [http://www.rigb.org/rimain/heritage/faradaypage.jsp Biography at The Royal Institution of Great Britain]
* [http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/1225 Faraday as a Discoverer by John Tyndall, Project Gutenberg] (downloads)
* [http://www.asa3.org/ASA/PSCF/1991/PSCF6-91Eichman.html The Christian Character of Michael Faraday]
* [http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jbourj/money1.htm Michael Faraday on the British twenty-pound banknote]
* [http://www.archive.org/details/lifediscoverieso00crowrich The Life and Discoveries of Michael Faraday] by J. A. Crowther, London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1920 

===Others===
* "Faraday" at LoveToKnow 1911 Britannica Online Encyclopedia. [http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Michael_Faraday]
* {{dmoz|Science/Physics/History/People/Faraday,_Michael/}}
* {{gutenberg author | id=Michael_Faraday | name=Michael Faraday}} (downloads)
*[http://rack1.ul.cs.cmu.edu/is/faraday/doc.scn?fr=0&rp=http%3A%2F%2Frack1.ul.cs.cmu.edu%2Fis%2Ffaraday%2F&pg=4 "Experimental Researches in Electricity" by Michael Faraday] Original text with Biographical Introduction by Professor John Tyndall, 1914, Everyman edition.
* [http://www.ch.ic.ac.uk/video/index.rss Video Podcast with Sir John Cadogan talking about Benzene since Faraday]
* [http://www.archive.org/details/lettersoffaraday00fararich The letters of Faraday and Schoenbein 1836-1862. With notes, comments and references to contemporary letters (1899)] full download [http://www.archive.org/download/lettersoffaraday00fararich/lettersoffaraday00fararich.pdf PDF]

{{s-start}}
{{s-awards}}
{{s-bef|before=[[George Biddell Airy]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Copley Medal]]|years=1832<br/>''jointly with [[Siméon Denis Poisson]]''}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Giovanni Antonio Amedeo Plana]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Antoine César Becquerel]] and [[John Frederic Daniell]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Copley Medal]]|years=1838<br/>''jointly with [[Carl Friedrich Gauss]]''}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Robert Brown (botanist)|Robert Brown]]}}
{{s-end}}

<!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]] -->

{{Persondata
|NAME=Faraday, Michael
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
|SHORT DESCRIPTION=British [[Physicist]] and [[Chemist]]
|DATE OF BIRTH=[[September 22]], [[1791]]
|PLACE OF BIRTH=[[Newington Butts]], [[England]]
|DATE OF DEATH=[[August 25]], [[1867]]
|PLACE OF DEATH=[[Hampton Court]], [[London]], [[England]]
}}

{{BD|1791|1867|Faraday, Michael}}
[[Category:Physicists]]
[[Category:Experimental physicists]]
[[Category:English chemists]]
[[Category:English inventors]]
[[Category:English physicists]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Society]]
[[Category:People from Elephant and Castle]]
[[Category:People associated with electricity]]
[[Category:Burials at Highgate Cemetery]]
[[Category:English Protestants]]
[[Category:Members of the French Academy of Sciences]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Copley Medal]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class)]]

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