Michael Faraday

Visiting Volta, the de la Rives, Hachette, Humboldt, Arago and Ampère on a continental tour as Davy’s assistant, Davy’s wife’s behaviour made him consider quitting science. Thomson’s question led to his exploration of light as electromagnetic. Siemens showed him his revolutionary furnace, but Faraday accidentally burned his lecture notes. His own shyness led Wheatstone, a lifelong friend, to deliver most of his lectures for him. Babbage was a good friend, and the Brunels, Ampère, Humboldt, Constable, Schoenbein, Dumas and Herschel all correspondents. Maxwell provided the mathematics to support his empirical research.