Makers of Electricity

In Short

This collection of biographical essays chronicles the lives of the foundational figures in the study of electricity, from the early explorers of magnetism like Columbus to nineteenth-century giants like Faraday and Maxwell. Beyond merely detailing scientific breakthroughs, the text presents these pioneers as well-rounded human beings whose intellectual rigor was matched by their devotion to both their communities and their faith. It remains a significant historical document for its specific focus on the intersection of early modern scientific inquiry and the personal ethics of the investigators who shaped our modern technological world.

The Story

The narrative begins by grounding the history of electricity in the early, practical observations of explorers like Christopher Columbus. The text highlights how Columbus, through his seafaring, identified the critical phenomena of magnetic variation—the discrepancy between the magnetic needle and the true pole. This serves as a springboard to discuss the evolution of terrestrial magnetism, mentioning early observers like George Hartmann, who recorded magnetic declination in the sixteenth century. The book shifts focus to the philosophical and scientific climate of the time, noting how early figures like William Gilbert moved beyond archaic myths—such as the Hindu belief in a tortoise-supported earth—to establish more rigorous physical models of our world.

As the text progresses into the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the story moves from the realm of navigation to that of active experimentation. Benjamin Franklin receives significant attention, depicted not merely as a statesman but as an earnest seeker of moral and scientific truth. The book details his invention of the lightning rod and his famous kite experiment, framing these contributions as the work of a man who viewed the mastery of nature as a service to humanity. His methodical approach to cultivating personal virtues—tracking his failures in a diary—is presented as proof of his disciplined, purposeful character.

The narrative then transitions into the intense, often bitter, but ultimately fruitful rivalry between Luigi Galvani and Alessandro Volta. The author describes their disagreement over "animal electricity" versus contact electricity, which culminated in Volta’s invention of the electric battery. This discovery proved pivotal, providing the tools necessary for the next generation of researchers to bridge the gap between magnetism and electricity.

The story continues with Hans Christian Oersted, whose discovery of the relationship between electric current and magnetic fields opened a new era in physics. André-Marie Ampère, the founder of electro-dynamics, is portrayed as a man of immense mathematical genius whose work was guided by his Catholic faith. The account extends to Georg Simon Ohm, whose efforts to establish mathematical laws for electrical resistance are framed as a triumph of genius over mundane institutional obstacles.

The final chapters move toward the giants of the mid-nineteenth century. Michael Faraday is celebrated as the premier experimentalist, a man whose work in chemistry and electricity was defined by his humility and his profound religious awe. The narrative concludes with James Clerk Maxwell, whose mathematical syntheses provided the framework for understanding the ether, and Cyrus W. Field, whose perseverance in laying the Atlantic cable serves as a capstone to the book’s theme: the victory of human character, endurance, and faith over immense physical and financial obstacles. The arc is one of steady, purposeful progress, where every technical achievement is tied to the moral fortitude of the individual.

How It Unfolds

The foundations of magnetism The account opens with the practical discoveries of navigators who first identified the variations of the compass needle. It quickly moves to early scientific attempts to explain the earth as a magnet rather than a flat, floating mass.

The moral and scientific life The text turns toward the eighteenth century, using Benjamin Franklin as the primary case study for the scientist-as-moral-agent. It describes his rigorous internal discipline and his public service through the invention of the lightning rod.

The great electrical debates The narrative examines the scientific contention between Galvani and Volta, highlighting how their disagreement forced a deeper investigation into the nature of electric currents. This section marks the shift from observation to the creation of the modern battery.

The era of electro-dynamics The focus shifts to the mathematical and experimental breakthroughs of Oersted, Ampère, and Ohm. The author emphasizes how these men navigated professional hardships while maintaining their intellectual focus and spiritual conviction.

The crowning achievements The final beats cover the work of Michael Faraday and Clerk Maxwell, whose discoveries synthesized vast areas of physical knowledge. The book concludes with the arduous, multi-year struggle to lay the Atlantic cable, illustrating the triumph of human tenacity.

The People

The cast is composed of men whose personal integrity is as central to the text as their scientific discoveries. Benjamin Franklin stands out as a man of relentless self-improvement, using a strict, cyclical system to cultivate thirteen virtues while simultaneously "subduing the thunder." Luigi Galvani is portrayed as a figure of quiet, stubborn devotion to duty, willing to face poverty and the loss of his professorship rather than violate his conscience by taking an oath he could not support. Alessandro Volta appears as a brilliant, internationally recognized scientist who remained a "faithful son of the Church," only accepting financial honors after securing papal approval. André-Marie Ampère is presented as a genius of immense sympathy, a mathematician whose "vast field of physical science" never distracted him from his religious humility. Michael Faraday is described as the ultimate experimentalist, a man who saw the "testimony" of the Creator in the rainbow and who sought only to "say that which he thought was true and to do that which he thought was kind." Finally, Cyrus W. Field emerges as the indomitable promoter of the Atlantic cable, a man whose "triumph of failure" serves as the final testament to the era’s spirit of perseverance.

In Its Own Voice

Regarding the importance of character in scientific work, the text notes:

The lives of these men are not only interesting as scientific history, but especially as human documents, showing the sort of men who are likely to make great advances in science and, above all, demonstrating what the outlook of such original thinkers was on all the great problems of the world around us.

On the religious devotion of the nineteenth-century physicist Clerk Maxwell:

He had gauged and fathomed all the schemes and systems of philosophy, and had found them utterly empty and unsatisfying—'unworkable' was his own word about them—and he turned with simple faith to the Gospel of the Saviour.

On the character of Michael Faraday in his final days:

There was a philosopher less on earth, and a saint more in heaven.

What It's Really About

The book is a corrective argument against the notion that scientific inquiry is inherently hostile to religious faith. Throughout the biographies, the author maintains that the most significant scientific pioneers were driven by a sense of divine order and personal moral responsibility. The underlying question is whether a life dedicated to material science can coexist with a life of spiritual humility. By highlighting the lives of these specific men, the book concludes that scientific excellence and religious belief are not only compatible but mutually reinforcing. It views the history of science as a "triumph of mind over matter," where the development of technology is inseparable from the cultivation of a high-minded, ethical soul.

Why Read It Today

Readers interested in the history of science will appreciate this book for its focus on the human dimension of discovery. It avoids the dry, purely technical explanations found in modern textbooks, opting instead for a biographical approach that paints these scientists as characters in a larger narrative of progress. Those who enjoy nineteenth-century prose will find the author’s style—warm, earnest, and deeply moralistic—both charming and thought-provoking.

However, a modern reader should be prepared for the book’s clear perspective. It is unapologetically written from a specific ideological standpoint, viewing the lives of these men through a lens of traditional faith and nineteenth-century ethics. You will not find the detached, secular tone common in contemporary history; instead, you will encounter a narrative that explicitly judges the "higher life" and "personal ethics" of its subjects. Furthermore, the text’s organization is somewhat dated, relying on anecdotes and eulogistic accounts that feel quite different from modern, source-heavy biographies.

Despite these period-specific attitudes, the book remains valuable for its ability to humanize figures who are often treated as mere names in a physics curriculum. If you want to understand how the pioneers of our modern electrical age saw their place in the universe, this volume provides an insightful, if historically distinct, point of view.