Michael Faraday: Father of Electronics by Charles Ludwig

I recently finished a biography entitled Michael Faraday: Father of Electronics by Charles Ludwig. This is one of those books that you buy (or in this case someone gave to me) to read but somehow end up using as “bookshelf filler.” If you read very much, I’m sure you understand. If you have an obsession with buying physical copies of books (rather than electronic) I am certain that you know exactly what I mean.

To digress for just a moment: I am obsessed with buying books and have been for many years. However, I do not simply pull up the New York Times “Bestseller” lists and choose from these like a catalog. I do not pay very much attention to Amazon.com’s suggestions, lists, or e-mail campaigns. Nor do I get most of my books from the “Bargain Bins” at major retailers. No, I typically find my treasures at yard sales, junk stores, estate sales, and often at friends’ houses. Simply put, most of the things I like to read (non-fiction, textbooks, etc.) are things that most people are forced to buy in the first place and then get rid of when they have served their useful purpose.

The Faraday book wasn’t mine; it was my wife’s from her senior year of high school. When she moved in with me she commented that she thought I would like it. Fourteen years later, I found out she was right. Faraday was someone I find fascinating for numerous reasons.

First, a little biographical information: Michael Faraday was born September 22, 1791 in a village just outside of (and now within) London, England. He had almost no formal education. He left elementary school due to a dispute with a hard-nosed school teacher because of his inability to overcome a speech impediment in which he could not pronounce the letter “r.” (Michael later overcame this through his own hard work and the application of his brilliant intellect.) After leaving school, Michael apprenticed for seven years with a bookbinder.

Much of Michael’s “education” came by being able to seize the opportunity to learn whenever and wherever it presented itself. Apprenticing to a bookbinder allowed him to become an excellent reader, to fill himself with the knowledge (often copying and taking notes) from the volumes with which he worked, and to come into contact with many of London’s more educated citizens. He quickly developed a fascination—an obsession even—with chemistry. Michael consumed any material about science and chemistry that he could get his hands on. He even attended lectures at the Royal Institution given by Humphry Davy.

Upon completing his apprenticeship in bookbinding, Michael determined that he would be a chemist or die trying. He was fortunate to become a temporary assistant (treated more like a servant) to Davy himself; later Faraday became Humphry’s lab assistant at the Royal Institution. Finally, Michael’s brilliance began to shine through. He first made contributions to Davy’s work. Then, he began to outshine even this mentor.

Michael Faraday would go on to be called the father of the electric motor, the transformer, and the generator. He discovered benzene, improved steel alloys, and was the first person to turn chlorine into a liquid form. He took over Davy’s public lectures at the Royal Institution where he was even more popular with London society, including the Royal family. The University of Oxford granted Faraday a Doctor of Civil Law degree (honorary). Michael was quite a humble person and rejected a knighthood and also refused the presidency of the Royal Society.

What is most fascinating to me about Michael Faraday is that he was able to accomplish so much with so little. He was born into hopeless poverty. He lacked the means to obtain an education that would allow him to contribute to the body of scientific knowledge. Yet because of an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and a dogged determination to understand the principles of nature, Michael Faraday did more than most of his contemporaries who graduated from England’s finest universities.

The biological maxim from Jurassic Park (I think) was “life finds a way.” I believe a suitable analogue would likewise be, “curiosity finds a way.” Einstein, Feynman, John Wheeler—almost any scientist one could name would have one characteristic that overshadowed everything else about their life and personality—curiosity. Michael Faraday had that quality and seized whatever opportunity he could find to satisfy it.

I find that truly inspirational. Happy learning!