The Resume

(September 22, 1791-August 25, 1867)
Born in London, United Kingdom
Physicist and chemist
Discovered benzene, electromagnetic induction and the laws of electrolysis
Invented early forms of the Bunsen burner and electric motor
Elected to the Royal Society (1824)

Why he might be annoying:

During a trip through Europe as Sir Humphry Davy's assistant (1813-15), Davy's wife Jane treated him as a servant, making him so miserable that he considered returning to England alone and giving up on science.
His first electric motor built on the work of Davy and William Hyde Wollaston, but he did not mention either scientist when publishing his results.
He struggled to translate his experimental results into mathematical formulas.
He turned down a knighthood, the presidency of the Royal Society and burial in Westminster Abbey.

Why he might not be annoying:

He largely educated himself by reading the stock while working as a bookbinder's assistant.
He was the first to suggest that electromagnetic fields extend into the empty space around a conductor.
He investigated a mine explosion and determined the hazards posed by coal dust (1846).
He advised the National Gallery on how to clean and protect its art collection.
He refused to produce chemical weapons during the Crimean War on ethical grounds.

Credit: C. Fishel

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• 19th Century Scientists
• A & E Biographies of the Millennium (Ranked: 61)
• An Asteroid was Named in My Honor (Ranked: 37582)
• C. Fishel's Profiles [Series 12]
• Day and Night
• Eminent Victorians
• I Did Not Graduate High School [F-I]
• I'm Buried at Highgate Cemetary in London
• Inventors
• Life Magazine's Top 100 People of the Millennium [2000] (Ranked: 70)
• Lost Characters Named After Philosophers
• My Name Became a Unit of Measurement
• Profiles 23251-23500 (Ranked: 23338)
• Religion's 100 Most Influential People (Ranked: 23)
• Scientists
• Top 100 Great Britons [BBC, 2002] (Ranked: 22)

Year In Review:

In 2023, Out of 5 Votes: 20.0% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 4 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 5 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 5 Votes: 20.0% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 10 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2018, Out of 7 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 6 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2015, Out of 14 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2014, Out of 44 Votes: 52.27% Annoying
In 2013, Out of 32 Votes: 53.12% Annoying
In 2012, Out of 20 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
In 2011, Out of 13 Votes: 30.77% Annoying
In 2010, Out of 161 Votes: 68.94% Annoying
In 2009, Out of 50 Votes: 38.00% Annoying
In 2008, Out of 35 Votes: 22.86% Annoying