Joseph Henry Discovers Electromagnetic Induction

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Summary

Joseph Henry uses his electromagnet and a battery to induce an electric current measurable by a galvanometer, and to create sparks. He publishes his results in Silliman's American Journal of Science in July, 1832, shortly after British scientist Michael Faraday published similar results in another scientific journal. In 1846, Henry would become the first Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.

Subject

  • Henry, Joseph 1797-1878
  • Faraday, Michael 1791-1867

Category

Chronology of Smithsonian History

Notes

  • Henry's article on this discovery can be found at http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/9077342.
  • Moyer, Albert. Joseph Henry: The Rise of an American Scientist. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1997, pp. 86-93.
  • Henry, Joseph. "On the Production of Currents and Sparks of Electricity from Magnetism." Silliman's Journal 22, 1832, pp. 403-08.

Contact information

Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Institution Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu

Date

June 1832

Topic

  • Electric apparatus and appliances
  • Magnetic induction
  • Inventors
  • Inventions
  • Science
  • Electrochemistry
  • Electromagnets
  • Science publishing
  • Electric power supplies to apparatus
  • Experiments
  • Electromagnetic Induction
  • Science--Experiments
  • Electromagnet
  • Electric batteries

Place

United States

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