Sir Humphrey Davy (1778–1829), Bt, FRS, FRSE

Image credit: The Royal Society of Edinburgh

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Born in Penzance, and for a time apprenticed to a surgeon-apothecary there, Davy became an assistant in the Pneumatic Institution at Clifton, Bristol. There he discovered the respiratory effects of nitrous oxide in 1799. In 1802 he became professor at the Royal Institution, London, where, by electrolysis, he discovered the metals sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, strontium and barium. He is well known for his design of the miner's safety lamp or 'Davy Lamp'. He was elected to Fellowship of this Society in 1808 and to the presidency of the Royal Society, London, in 1820.

The Royal Society of Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Title

Sir Humphrey Davy (1778–1829), Bt, FRS, FRSE

Date

c.1821–1822

Medium

oil on canvas

Measurements

H 124 x W 98 cm

Accession number

PCF14

Acquisition method

purchased, 1849

Work type

Painting

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The Royal Society of Edinburgh

22–26 George Street, Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH2 2PQ Scotland

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