Michael Faraday was an English chemist and physicist. His career crossed both fields, and his experiments helped establish the scientific foundations of electromagnetism and electrochemistry.
As a physicist, Faraday discovered electromagnetic induction in 1831, showing that a changing magnetic field can produce an electric current. This principle underlies electric generators and transformers. He also investigated magnetic fields, diamagnetism and the behaviour of light in magnetic fields.
His chemical achievements were equally important. Faraday isolated benzene, studied chlorine and liquefied several gases. He formulated the laws of electrolysis, which linked the amount of chemical change to the quantity of electricity passing through a substance.
Faraday is sometimes described simply as an “electrician” or experimental scientist, but “physicist” is the standard answer to this question. He had little formal schooling and did not attend university, yet became one of the nineteenth century’s most influential experimental scientists.