science · 09 April 1812 · 212 years ago
In 1812, Humphry Davy delivered his farewell lecture in the Theatre of the Royal Institution. It was a busy week for Davy: the day before, he was the first to be knighted by the Prince Regent (later King George IV). Two days after his farewell lecture, Davy married Mrs. Apreece, described in The Journal of the Royal Institution as a “lady of very considerable fortune.” The young Michael Faraday had been attending Davy's lectures, and became his amenuensis after Davy injured an eye in Oct 1812, while making an explosive chemical. In Feb 1813, Faraday became Davy's research assistant and protégé. Davy resigned his RI professorship on 5 Apr 1813. After years of researching and lecturing at the RI, by Feb 1833, Faraday became the Fullerian Professor of Chemistry at the Royal Institution.
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