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The Life and Science of Michael FaradayIn Yorkshire in 1787 James and Margaret Faraday started a family with the birth of their daughter, Elizabeth and in 1788 Robert, their first son, was born. Then in 1789 England suffered a depression brought about by the French revolution. Worse, James Faraday's health began to fail - the strain of running his own smithy telling on his strength. Travellers stopping to have their horses shod must have convinced him that he would do better in London, so in 1791 the family left Yorkshire and the support of their families and moved into rented rooms in Newington, Surrey. It was there, on September 22 1791, that Michael Faraday was born. Michael Faraday's childhood seems to have been hard but happy. Times were hard because his father's health continued to be poor. In fact there was so little money coming in that Michael often had to survive on a single loaf of bread as his food for the week! There were four Faraday children in the end. Michael got on well with his older sister and brother, and adored his younger sister Margaret who was born in 1802. At school there was no indication of Michael's talents - he had very little elementary education and was far happier playing out on the streets. He later wrote:
The poverty of his childhood never seemed to affect Michael in later life, but the love and happy times he shared with his family within the strict confines of their Christian beliefs were a lifelong source of strength to him. At the bottom of this page there are links to find out about different stages in Faraday's life. Click on each link in turn to find out more about each stage. |
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