Oersted, Hans Christian 1777-1851
Danish physicist

Born in Rudk�bing, Langeland, he had little formal education, but learned German, French, Latin and some chemistry, and passed the entrance examination at Copenhagen University. The idea that nature's forces had a common origin resulted in his epochal discovery in 1820, when professor at Copenhagen University, of the magnetic effect produced by an electric current. This paved the way for the electromagnetic discoveries of Andr� Amp�re and Michael Faraday, and the development of the galvanometer, in which Oersted also played a part. He made an extremely accurate measurement of the compressibility of water, and succeeded in isolating aluminium for the first time in 1825.

Bibliography: Bern Dibner, Oersted and the Discovery of Electromagnetism (2nd edn, 1963)