Joseph Henry (1799-1878) was a professor in a small school in Albany, New York. He was the first man in the United States since Franklin to undertake original scientific experiments. 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. 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.