Humphrey Davy Lecturing, 1809
A 1809 etching by Thomas Rowlandson depicting Davy giving a chemical lecture at the Surrey Institute. Humphry Davy (December 17, 1778 - May 29, 1829) was an English chemist and inventor. His Researches, Chemical and Philosophical, chiefly concerning Nitrous Oxide, published in 1800, secured his reputation as a chemist. In 1801 he was engaged as lecturer at the new formed Royal Institution. His lectures included spectacular and sometimes dangerous chemical demonstrations, and the young and handsome chemist soon acquired a huge female following. He was a pioneer in the field of electrolysis using the voltaic pile to split up common compounds and thus prepare many new elements. He discovered several new metals, especially sodium and potassium, highly reactive elements known as the alkali metals. He worked with electrolysis throughout his life and also discovered calcium, magnesium, boron and barium. In 1815 he invented the Davy lamp, a safety lamp consisting of a wick lamp with the flame enclosed inside a mesh screen, or use in coal mines, to reduce the danger of explosions due to the presence of methane and other flammable gases. He died in 1829 at the age of 50 of heart disease.
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