Michael Faraday

The son of a blacksmith, born in England in 1791, Michael Faraday

was a self-educated genius with a passion for science and invention.

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The great genius Albert Einstein used to keep three photographs on his desk: one of Sir
Isaac Newton (who discovered gravity);one of James Maxwell (who proved how
electricity, magnetism, and light are all related)’ and one of Michael Faraday.
That’s pretty good company for the son of a blacksmith who had virtually no education.
Michael didn’t have much hope of a decent schooling: boys from the lower classes in
England in the 1700s went to work, not school. But bright young Michael caught a lucky
break when he was apprenticed to a book dealer, and was allowed to read as much as he
wanted.
Even though he was self-educated, it was obvious that Michael was highly intelligent. He
started going to lectures by a famous chemist, Humphry Davy, and wrote a 300-page
book based on Davy’s ideas!
The great scientist was flattered and ended up hiring Faraday as an assistant. In those
days, a lower-class person like Michael Faraday was not considered a “gentleman” - on a
trip to Europe, he had to act as Davy’s valet and live with the servants.
Although the odds were against him, and he was often treated unfairly by his social
superiors, Faraday kept working hard and earning his way up the ladder of success. In
fact, he worked so hard and so brilliantly that his lower-class roots were eventually
forgotten, and he became a giant of English science.