Humphry Davy

About this figure

Humphry Davy (1778-1829) was an English chemist whose experiments with electrolysis led to the discovery of several chemical elements and who became one of the most celebrated men of science of his era. Davy first attracted attention for his research on nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, conducted at the Pneumatic Institution in Bristol and published as Researches, Chemical and Philosophical, in which he described the gas's physiological effects, including on himself, and speculated about its potential surgical use. He then became a lecturer at the Royal Institution in London, where his public demonstrations of chemistry drew large audiences and helped establish his reputation.

Using the recently invented voltaic pile, Davy applied electrolysis to molten compounds and isolated several previously unknown metallic elements, including potassium, sodium, calcium, barium, strontium, and magnesium, and he also did important work on chlorine, arguing against the prevailing view that it was a compound and establishing it as an element. He invented the Davy lamp, a safety lamp designed to reduce explosions in coal mines by containing the flame within a fine wire mesh, a design he made freely available rather than patenting.

Davy served as president of the Royal Society and mentored Michael Faraday, who began as his laboratory assistant and went on to a scientific career of comparable stature. In his final years, in declining health, Davy wrote Consolations in Travel, or the Last Days of a Philosopher, a series of dialogues on science, nature, and religion published shortly after his death. He died in Geneva in 1829.

Written by Epoch Voices. Not the figure’s own words.