B/w print

Acc.no: PEZPH : 1990.372

Identification

Item: Watercolour miniature of Humphry Davy by John Jackson, RA, based on full size portrait at the Royal Society, 1823

Description: Photograph of the watercolour miniature by John Jackson, RA, based on full size portrait at the Royal Society, 1823 showing Humphry Davy in his prime. Davy was knighted in 1812 and became a baronet in 1818 with the title Davy of Grosvenor Square. In the period 1820s he was the Royal Society's president. His major achievement, though not without controversy, was to professionalise the Royal Society by replacing gentlemen amateurs with scientists. His father was a carpenter from Ludgvan; his mother, Grace Millet, came from Bosavern, St Just. As a young man, Davy developed a love of the open air, reflected in his poetic literary style. After an apprenticeship with his apothecary uncle, in 1798 he joined the Pneumatic Institute in Bristol rapidly developing experiments on gases. He was appointed a lecturer at the Royal Institution in 1802; a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1804; identified potassium and sodium in 1807; calcium in 1808 and was knighted in 1812. In 1916 he was awarded the Runford Medal for design of the miners' safety lamp. His apprentice was Michael Faraday.

Condition: Good -

Description

Height: Mm

Width: Mm

Material: Photograph

Production

Method: Printed

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