Joseph Henry (1799-1878) was a professor in a small school in
Albany, New York.
He worked to improve electromagnets and was the
first to superimpose coils of wire wrapped on an iron core. It is
said that he insulated the wire for one of his magnets using a silk
dress belonging to his wife.
Joseph Henry
In 1830 he observed electromagnetic
induction, a year before Faraday.
He was roundly criticized for not
publishing his discovery, losing the distinction for American
science. Henry did obtain priority for the discovery of self
induction, however.
He received an appointment at New Jersey College
(later Princeton University) and in 1846 became the first director
of the Smithsonian Institution.
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