Hans Christian Ørsted

Pioneering physicist who discovered the link between electricity and magnetism.

Chronology: 1777-08-14 – 1851-03-09

Origins & Early Life

Hans Christian Ørsted (Danish: [ˈɶɐ̯steð] ; 14 August 1777 – 9 March 1851), sometimes transliterated as Oersted ( UR-sted), was a Danish chemist and physicist who discovered that electric currents create magnetic fields. This phenomenon is known as Oersted's law. He also discovered aluminium, a chemical element. A leader of the Danish Golden Age, Ørsted was a close friend of Hans Christian Andersen and the brother of politician and jurist Anders Sandøe Ørsted, who served as Prime Minister of Denmark from 1853 to 1854.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

== Early life and studies == Ørsted was born in Rudkøbing in 1777. As a young boy he developed an interest in science while working for his father, who was a pharmacist in the town's pharmacy. He and his brother Anders received most of their early education through self-study at home, going to Copenhagen in 1793 to take entrance exams for the University of Copenhagen, where both brothers excelled academically. By 1796, Ørsted had been awarded honors for his papers in both aesthetics and physics. He earned his doctorate in 1799 for a dissertation based on the works of Kant entitled The Architectonics of Natural Metaphysics.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

In 1800, Alessandro Volta reported his invention...

Source: Wikipedia