Michael Faraday-a centennial

Beyond his own material contributions to the electrical art, Faraday´s experimental approach and intuitive resolutions opened channels of inquiry into which his successors moved. Thus his bequest to society has increased in value far beyond that which he himself could have envisioned. In this article commemorating the centennial of Faraday´s death, we follow him from his humble beginnings as a simple bookbinder´s apprentice until he quietly passes into history at the age of 76¿the leading scientist of his generation.