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The tales of Benjamin Abbott: a source for the early life of Michael Faraday

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 January 2009

Frank A. J. L. James
Frank A. J. L. James
Affiliation:
Royal Institution Centre for the History of Science and Technology, The Royal Institution, 21 Albemarle Street, London W1X 4BS.
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Extract

In his recent study of the Sandemanian religious beliefs of Michael Faraday (1791–1867), Geoffrey Cantor points out that relatively little is known of Faraday's early life. Yet Cantor, like many biographers and authors, believes that the early life of an individual is important and needs to be studied carefully to develop a full and rounded account of the subject. The problem with Faraday is that not much was noted down at the time since his father came from the artisan class, being a Sandemanian blacksmith from north-west England who had moved to London in early 1791. When a person dies at a great age there is always a problem about finding out about their early life, views and friendships. This is especially difficult if their social background is particularly humble or if they do not write an autobiography. Furthermore those who knew them when they were young are either dead, or at an advanced age where their memory may have become faulty. This circumstance can lead to anecdotal stories, without much basis, becoming enshrined uncritically in the literature. The life of Faraday provides many examples of this.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal for the History of Science , Volume 25 , Issue 2 , June 1992 , pp. 229 - 240
Copyright
Copyright © British Society for the History of Science 1992

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References

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42 Robert Abbott, was not a member of Society of Friends. DQB.

43 Abbott, Dinah (1755–1818, DQB)Google Scholar. Was expelled from the Society of Friends for marrying Robert Abbott.

44 DQB gives Abbott as having two sisters Sarah (b. 1789) and Dinah (b. 1796). Since all the letters between Abbott and Faraday only ever refer to one sister (never named), this implies that one had died or possibly married and moved away.

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48 Faraday, Margaret (1764–1838, GRO Death certificate under Farraday).Google Scholar

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64 Faraday, to Abbott, , 27 02 1818Google Scholar, ibid., letter 81.

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66 Faraday, to Abbott, , 25 07 1817Google Scholar, ibid., letter 75.

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75 Unidentified.

76 Cited in Williams, , op. cit. (25), 22.Google Scholar

77 George Riebau.

78 Cited in Williams, , op. cit. (25), 11.Google Scholar

79 Cited in ibid., p. 21.

80 Cited in Jones, Bence, op. cit. (4), i, 56Google Scholar, and Williams, , op. cit. (25), 29.Google Scholar

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82 RI MM, 1 03 1813, v, 355Google Scholar states that Faraday was to be appointed on the same terms as Payne. However, this would imply a wage of one pound per week (RI MM, 19 03 1810, v, 56–5Google Scholar) and probably only one room (RI MM, 21 11 1803, iii, 162Google Scholar). There is no mention in the minutes of fuel and candles for the Laboratory Assistant.

83 This is very similar to an incident reported in Abbott, to Faraday, , 20 and 22 11 1814Google Scholar, James, , op. cit. (13), letter 39Google Scholar, but in which Faraday was not involved as he was on the Continent at the time.

84 A member of the City Philosophical Society. See Faraday, to Abbott, , 6 09 1814Google Scholar, James, , op. cit. (13), letter 37.Google Scholar

85 Battersea Bridge had been built in 1771. See Pudney, John, Crossing London's River, London, 1972, 64–5.Google Scholar

86 This is inaccurate. After Faraday's return, the Managers returned Stephen Slatter, who had occupied the position of Laboratory Assistant in Faraday's absence, to his previous post of Assistant Porter. Faraday was then reappointed Laboratory Assistant with additional duties involving the mineralogical collection. RI MM, 15 05 1815, vi, 58.Google Scholar

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93 It is not clear what precisely prompted Davy to decide in late March 1815 to return to England. He could not have continued his journey as intended to the Turkish Empire as he found he would have to undergo quarantine to which he had an ‘utter aversion’ (Faraday, to Abbott, , 23 02 1815Google Scholar, James, , op. cit. (13), letter 49Google Scholar). Furthermore following the escape of Napoleon from Elba, Italy had been thrown into turmoil. See Ann. Reg., 1815, 73–80.Google Scholar

94 Abbott confused this with their outward journey when they did cross the Col de Tende in February 1814 (Faraday, to Abbott, , 1 05 and 24 07 1814Google Scholar, James, , op. cit. (13), letter 33Google Scholar). On the homeward journey they returned directly through Germany.

95 Safety lamp, 1815–16; liquefaction of gases, 1823; electric spark from a magnet, 1832; optical glass, second half of 1820s; steel, 1818–1822. It is not clear to what Abbott is referring when he mentions the ‘production of Magnetism by Electricity’.

96 About 1831, DQB.

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