Davy, Humphry
Achievements: Invented the miner’s safety lamp, discovered sodium and potassium
Born: December 17, 1778; Penzance, Cornwall, England
Died: May 29, 1829; Geneva, Switzerland (Aged 51)
Field & Discipline: Chemistry
Language: English
Education: Local schools, Penzance; Grammar school, Truro
Major Work:
"Researches, Chemical and Philosophical" (1800)
"On Some Chemical Agencies of Electricity" (1806)
"Elements of Chemical Philosophy" (1812)
Life & Times:
Davy entered into a correspondence with the physician and chemist Dr Thomas Beddoes, who established the Pneumatic Medical Institution in Clifton, near Bristol. Beddoes, who was eager to see if the pneumatic gases were of use in medicine, appointed Davy as chemical superintendent of the Institute and set him up in a laboratory. In the course of investigating the composition of ammonia and nitrogen, Davy used himself and his friends as guinea pigs. He persuaded his literary friends, the poets [a pal of] Coleridge* and [a pal of] Southey* to try out the effects of inhaling nitrous oxide, the laughing gas; while he almost lost his own life by inhaling a mixture of hydrogen and carbon dioxide.
Davy suggested that nitrous oxide might have a use as an anaesthetic, an idea later developed by the French physiologist [work related to] Bert* and first put into practice by the American physician [work related to] Long*. In 1800 Davy published his account of these investigations in "Researches, Chemical and philosophical". It made his reputation in wider scientific circles and he was invited to lecture at the Royal Institution. His first course of lectures were on galvanism, after which he was commissioned to conduct an investigation into the process of tanning.
In addition to his own experiments he visited tanneries and listened to the opinions of those in the business.
In 1801 he used electricity to heat platinum strips to incandescence, in the first experiments that would eventually lead to the development of the [helped develop] light bulb*.
In 1802 he gave a course of lectures on chemistry which were so popular that publication was requested by the audience, and in 1803 he was made a Fellow of the [fellow of] Royal Society*. Over the next ten years he gave the lectures which made the Institution a fashionable centre and Davy a celebrated figure (PBS series Mystery of Matter claims the first one-way street was established to handle the carriages).
In London he had a wide circle of friends, and still kept up his literary connections at the house of the philosopher [a pal of] Godwin*, the father of [knew] Mary Shelley*.
He experimented with the voltaic pile decided that it was a chemical action which caused the production of electricity in electrolytic cells, and that the chemical interaction occurred between substances which had an opposite charge. It was therefore Davy who made the connection between voltaic electricity and chemistry, a process known as electrolysis.
He further stated that electrolysis was possibly the most successful method for restructuring all substances to isolate their elements. In 1806 he presented his conclusions in a lecture entitled "On Some Chemical Agencies of Electricity".
In 1807 he was awarded the [awarded prize by] Napoleon* prize by the Institut de France for his work on electrolysis, in spite of the fact that England and France were at war. Soon afterwards he invented the first carbon arc lamps, which were later used by the American [his arc used by] Wanamaker* in his stores.
In the same year, Davy made his most celebrated discovery when he isolated the elements potassium and sodium (the process was later improved by [work futhered by] Thenard*) by using electrolysis to decompose the substances potash and soda. He then proceeded to isolate the alkaline-earth metals (following a method described to him in a letter from the Swedish scientist [corresponded with] Berzelius*) and also to discover boron, hydrogen telluride and hydrogen phosphide.
In 1812 he was knighted and married a widow, a cousin of [marriage-related to] Sir Walter Scott*. Before setting out on his honeymoon in Scotland Davy finished his "Elements of Chemical Philosophy," eagerly seized upon by the poet [influenced] Percy Bysshe Shelley* among others. Lady Davy tired of fishing stories and Davy cut his honeymoon short, eager to get to work on a new explosive for which there was much demand by miners and soldiers.
He was wounded in the eye during the course of his experiments and was afterwards assisted by [assisted by] Faraday*. From 1813-15, Davy and his wife travelled on the continent accompanied by Faraday. Davy had permission from Napoleon to travel in France and in Paris he associated with the leading French scientific men, including [met] Gay-Lussac* who had just given the name iode to a substance discovered by [named iodine discovered by] Courtois* the previous year. Davy examined the substance in his portable laboratory at his Paris hotel, named it iodine and published an account of its properties, greatly offending Gay-Lussac.
In Italy, Davy used the lenses in Florentine and Roman academies to investigate specimens of classical pigments and to conduct experiments on the combustion of the
diamond, which he proved was a form of carbon. He also made observations on Vesuvius.
On his return he was asked by the Society for Preventing Accidents in Coal Mines to conduct research into a safer way of lighting mines. The need was for a light that could be safely used in the explosive atmosphere that existed underground, and number of scientists and mechanics had been trying to come up with something for the previous three years. After visiting mining areas, Davy began his research with a detailed chemical analysis of specimens of fire-damp, the explosive gas now known as methane which was prevalent in mines.
He discovered that the gas did not penetrate through very small openings and worked out the exact size of aperture which stopped the gas. In his [co-invented]miner’s safety lamp* he surrounded a flame of light with a cylinder of fine wire gauze through which the gas could penetrate and burn inside the cylinder without causing an explosion in the inflammable mix of fire-damp and oxygen surrounding the lamp.
The lamp went out in explosive mixtures in which the fire-damp was in sufficient quantities to absorb the whole oxygen of the air. Conversely, the lamps burned more brightly when there was a danger of explosion, so they also acted as detectors. Davy refused to patent his invention, declaring that it was for the benefit of mankind. For his invention, Davy was awarded medals by the Royal Society and given a service of plate by the northern mine owners. He was also made a baronet.
The railroad engineer [co-invented safety lamp with] George Stephenson* made a counter-claim for the discovery but it was discounted and it was the miners who named the device "The Davy Lamp".
In 1820 the Davys visited the poet [visited] Byron* at the Palazzo Guiccioli, in Ravenna, Italy. On his return Davy was elected President of the Royal Society, after a certain amount of manoeuvring to displace [replaced] Wollaston* who had occupied the chair after the departure of Sir Joseph Banks.
Davy’s contacts and his wide range of interests made him an excellent promoter of science. He never lost his interest in geology. He was a friend the geologist [a pal of] Ure*, and it was due to Davy that [a pal of] Murchison* took up geology.
Together with [co-founded London Zoo with] Raffles*, Davy was one of the founders of the Zoological Society and the establishment of the zoological gardens in Regent's Park, London. His continued to pursue his own researches and for the Navy Board he investigated ways of preventing corrosion of the copper sheathing on ships' bottoms. His last lecture was "On the Relation of Electrical and Chemical Charges" in 1826.
Assessment: Davy is remembered most of all for the miners' lamp he invented and for the discovery of sodium and potassium. He was the most prominent scientist of his time and did a great deal to promote the usefulness of science in commerce and industry, and to popularise the achievements of science.
Extra Connections: Was a friend of physician [a pal of] Bright*.
Met chemists [met] Dalton*, and [met] Silliman Snr*.
[knew] Somerville* [knew] FW Herschel* and [knew] Airy*
His work related to that of [work related to] Rumford* and [work related to] Sorby*.
Set up London Zoo with group including [co-founded London Zoo with] E. Griffith*
Knew chemist [knew] Smithson*
[attacked by] William Henry* attacked his theory of heat
One of his assistants was balloonist John [hired] Sadler*
Beaten by Scheele.
Medal from Bonaparte.
Pal of Watt's son.
Oneliner: Humphry Davy, great English chemist
Bibliography:
Treneer, Anne,The Mercurial Chemist, A Life of Sir Humphry Davy, Methuen &
Co Ltd., London, 1963.
Father: Robert Davy
Mother: Grace Millett
Siblings: John; Katherine; Grace; Elizabeth
Spouse: Jane Kerr
Children: None
Multimedia: PBS series Mystery of Matter http://www.pbs.org/program/mystery-matter/