In which London district was Michael Faraday born in 1791?

Michael Faraday was born in Newington Butts, a former hamlet now associated with the London Borough of Southwark. In Faraday’s lifetime the area was in Surrey; today it lies near Elephant and Castle in south London.

Newington Butts was not originally a modern administrative district in the way names such as Chelsea or Hampstead are. It was an older settlement and road area whose name is linked to “butts,” a Middle English term for archery practice grounds. The name also became associated with an early Elizabethan playhouse.

Faraday was born there on 22 September 1791, the third child of James Faraday, a blacksmith, and Margaret Faraday. His family was not wealthy, and he received only basic formal schooling. At fourteen he began an apprenticeship with the bookbinder George Riebau, where reading scientific books helped shape the self-education that later defined his career.

A common mix-up is to place Faraday’s birthplace in central London or in the district where he later worked. He spent most of his scientific life at the Royal Institution in Albemarle Street, but his birthplace was Newington Butts.