Sir Humphry Davy, in full Sir Humphry Davy, Baronet, (born December 17, 1778, Penzance, Cornwall, England—died May 29, 1829, Geneva, Switzerland), English chemist who discovered several chemical elements (including sodium and potassium) and compounds, invented the miner’s safety lamp, and became one of the greatest exponents of the ...
- Frederick William Gibbs
In 1802, Humphry Davy had what was then the most powerful electrical battery in the world at the Royal Institution. With it, Davy created the first incandescent light by passing electric current through a thin strip of platinum, chosen because the metal had an extremely high melting point.
- Copley Medal (1805), Prix du galvanisme (1807), Rumford Medal (1816), Royal Medal (1827)
- Benjamin Thompson
- Self-Made Scientist
- Electrochemical Experiments
- Discovering New Elements
- Other Achievements and Honors
Apprenticed to an apothecary-surgeon, Davy taught himself a wide range of other subjects: theology and philosophy, poetics, seven languages, and several sciences, including chemistry. In 1798 he took a position at Thomas Beddoes’s Pneumatic Institution, where the use of the newly discovered gases in the cure and prevention of disease was investigat...
Soon after the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta announced the electric pile—an early type of battery—in 1800, Davy rushed into this new field and correctly realized that the production of electricity depended on a chemical reaction taking place. His electrochemical experiments led him to propose that the tendency of one substance to react prefere...
Among his many accomplishments Davy discovered several new elements. In 1807 he electrolyzed slightly damp fused potash and then soda—substances that had previously resisted decomposition and hence were thought by some to be elements—and isolated potassium and sodium. He went on to analyze the alkaline earths, isolating magnesium, calcium, strontiu...
In the course of his career Davy was involved in many practical projects. For example, he wrote the first text on the application of chemistry to agriculture and designed a miner’s lamp that surrounded the lamp’s flame with wire gauze to dissipate its heat and thus inhibit ignition of the methane gas commonly found in mines. Davy became a fellow of...
Apr 2, 2014 · Sir Humphry Davy was a Cornish chemist best known for his contributions to the discoveries of chlorine and iodine. In 1798, he was appointed chemical superintendent of the Pneumatic Institution...
Jul 22, 2019 · Sir Humphry Davy (December 17, 1778–May 29, 1829) was a British chemist and inventor who was best known for his contributions to the discoveries of chlorine, iodine, and many other chemical substances. He also invented the Davy lamp, a lighting device that greatly improved safety for coal miners, and the carbon arc, an early version of the ...
- Mary Bellis
- Inventions Expert
Dec 22, 2008 · Part experimenter and part entertainer, Humphry Davy was a 19th-century icon. Working his way up from humble beginnings, Davy took England by storm, traveling among the scientific and literary elite while dazzling the public with his groundbreaking experiments.
Sir Humphry Davy, widely considered to be one of the greatest chemists and inventors that Great Britain has ever produced, is highly regarded for his work on various alkali and alkaline earth metals, and for his valuable contributions regarding the findings of the elemental nature of chlorine and iodine.
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- Humphry Davy
British chemist (1778-1829)
Sir Humphry Davy, 1st Baronet, FRS, MRIA, FGS was a British chemist and inventor who invented the Davy lamp and a very early form of arc lamp. Wikipedia
- December 17, 1778, Penzance, United Kingdom
- May 29, 1829, Geneva, Switzerland
- Robert Davy, Grace Millett
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