Michael Faraday
Awards & Honours
6
Awards Won
8
Honours
3
Records
Faraday's record is unusual for a man with almost no formal schooling. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1824 and won its Copley Medal twice, in 1832 and 1835. He also took the Royal Medal twice and the Rumford Medal once. France made him a member of the Legion of Honour and one of eight foreign members of its Academy of Sciences. He turned down the presidency of the Royal Society and a knighthood. The unit of capacitance, the farad, carries his name. Einstein kept his portrait on his study wall beside Newton and Maxwell, and Rutherford said no honour was too great for "one of the greatest scientific discoverers of all time."
Awards
Honours & Distinctions
Fellow of the Royal Society
Elected for his contributions to chemistry and electricity.
Fullerian Professor of Chemistry
First holder of the chair, held for life.
Scientific Adviser to Trinity House
Worked on lighthouse optics and ship protection.
Member of the French Academy of Sciences
One of eight foreign members.
Legion of Honour
Awarded for scientific contributions.
Farad named in his honour
Unit of capacitance named for Faraday.
Michael Faraday Prize and Lecture
Annual award for excellence in communicating science.
Michael Faraday Medal and Prize
Awarded for experimental physics.
Records & Feats
First electric motor
Built in 1821, the first device to produce continuous rotation from a magnet and current-carrying wire.
Discovery of electromagnetic induction
The 1831 experiment with an iron ring and two coils that underpins every generator and transformer.
First link between light and electromagnetism
The 1845 Faraday effect showed a magnetic field could rotate polarised light.