Humphry Davy
1778–1829 · British · Romantic Era
Known for: Discovered sodium, potassium, and other elements via electrolysis; invented the miner's safety lamp
Humphry Davy was the first celebrity scientist—his lectures at the Royal Institution packed audiences, including fashionable women drawn by his good looks. He discovered sodium, potassium, calcium, barium, and other elements through electrolysis, and nearly killed himself repeatedly inhaling experimental gases including nitrous oxide.
His greatest discovery, he said, was Michael Faraday—the bookbinder's apprentice he hired as a laboratory assistant who became an even greater scientist.
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