Sir Humphry Davy Facts. Sir humphry davy, in full sir humphry davy, baronet, (born december 17, 1778, penzance, cornwall, england—died may 29, 1829, geneva, switzerland), english chemist who discovered several chemical elements (including sodium and potassium) and compounds, invented the miner’s safety lamp, and became one of the greatest exponents of the scientific method. Born on 17 december 1778 in penzance, cornwall, in the kingdom of great britain, sir humphry davy was the eldest of five children of a robert davy, a woodcarver, and his wife, grace millet.
He was the first to isolate several chemical elements, including sodium and potassium, and was one of the discoverers of the element boron. Sir humphry davy, widely considered to be one of the greatest chemists and inventors that great britain has ever produced, is highly regarded for his work on various alkali and alkaline earth metals, and for his valuable contributions regarding the findings of the elemental nature of chlorine and iodine. He went to truro grammar school.