1731-1810

English Chemist and Physicist

Henry Cavendish made many significant contributions to a wide range of scientific endeavors and is regarded as one of the greatest scientist of his day. He is best known for his work with the chemistry of gases, the discovery of hydrogen, the determination of the composition of water, the synthesis of water, and his contributions to electrical theory.

Henry Cavendish was born into one of England's most prominent families; two of his grandfathers were dukes. When he received his inheritance, he became one of the wealthiest people of his time. He was educated at exclusive Hackney School and attended Peterhouse College at Cambridge University. He never received a degree, refusing to declare his acceptance of the Church of England, a requirement of all graduates. Instead he returned home to assist his father in the laboratory that the elder Cavendish, a well-known...