The Davy safety lamp on which the sculpture is modelled was devised in 1815 by Sir Humphry Davy after a group of Newcastle miners told him of the dangers they faced from methane gas.

BBC: Memorial unveiled to miners who died at Bilsthorpe pit

The star of the lecture circuit at the time was Sir Humphry Davy, who plucked Faraday from obscurity to work as his laboratory assistant.

ECONOMIST: Science

The Age of Wonder details the work of people like Joseph Banks, Humphry Davy and William Herschel who transformed the way we view the world.

BBC: Prize for wonder of science past