Faraday's notes on Tatum's lectures. Illustration from lecture notes written by British chemist and physicist Michael Faraday (1791-1867). Faraday, a bookbinder's apprentice at the time, lacked a formal education and studied by reading books and attending lectures. He attended around 13 lectures by silversmith John Tatum (1772-1858) between February 1810 and September 1811. The notes Faraday made from these lectures formed four volumes and 300 pages and helped him start his career in science. This illustration shows a pile driver and is based on a model used by Tatum (named in the text at bottom) during a lecture.