Historical Figures Codexery

André-Marie Ampère

Founder of electrodynamics and namesake of the ampere

André-Marie Ampère was a French physicist and mathematician born on 20 January 1775 in Lyon.[1][2] He is one of the founders of classical electromagnetism, which he called electrodynamics.[1] The ampere (A), which is the SI unit for measuring electric current, was given its name in his honor.[3]

Quick Facts

Born
20 January 1775
Birthplace
Lyon, Kingdom of France
Died
10 June 1836
Place of death
Marseille, Kingdom of France
Fields
Physics; Mathematics
Workplaces
École polytechnique; Collège de France

Facts from the source article.

Life and work

Ampère's father, a prosperous businessman, educated him at home using the library and Rousseau's methods.[2][4] He taught himself advanced mathematics by age 12 using books from his father's collection.[5] The French Revolution influenced his youth, and his father became a local judge under the new government.[6] He engaged in diverse scientific inquiries, writing papers on mathematics, philosophy, chemistry, and astronomy.[7]

James Clerk Maxwell called Ampère "the Newton of electricity"[8] Following his wife's death in July 1803, Ampère relocated to Paris and by 1804 was working as a tutor at the École Polytechnique.[9] The Royal Society elected Ampère as a Foreign Member in 1827.[8]

What the cited sources add

On the day of his wife's death he wrote two verses from the Psalms and a prayer asking God to unite him in Heaven with those he loved.[10] In times of duress he would take refuge in reading the Bible and the Fathers of the Church.[10] The IEEE Global History Network states Ampère was born in Lyons, France in 1775 to Jeanne-Antoinette Desutieres-Sarcey and Jean-Jacques Ampère.[11] A biography notes Ampère read widely from authors such as Jean Racine, Voltaire, and Virgil.[12]

The same biography states that nearly 50 years after his death, Gustave Eiffel included Ampère's name among 72 prominent French scientists on a plaque at the Eiffel Tower's base.[12]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "André-Marie Ampère" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Dictionary of Scientific Biography", Charles Scribner's Sons, 1970 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "André-Marie Ampère" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Andre-Marie Ampere", IEEE Global History Network (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "André-Marie Ampère" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ampère, "Essai sur la Philosophie des Sciences", Chez Bachelier, 1834; Merz, "A History of European Thought in the Nineteenth Century", Blackwood, London, 1903, p. 5; O. Bottema & B. Roth, "Theoretical Kinematics", Dover Publications, 1990 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "André-Marie Ampère" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "André-Marie Ampère Biography, Books, Inventions, Accomplishments, & Facts", Encyclopaedia Britannica; (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "André-Marie Ampère" (CC BY-SA 4.0) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "André-Marie Ampère" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Biography of Andre Marie Ampere" (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "André-Marie Ampère" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Catholic Encyclopedia" (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "André-Marie Ampère" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Library and Archive Catalogue", Royal Society; Maxwell, "A Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism", Clarendon Press, 1873 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "André-Marie Ampère" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Laidler, "To Light such a Candle", Oxford University Press, 1993, p. 128 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  10. "Catholic Encyclopedia". facts only, no text reused. newadvent.org
  11. "Andre-Marie Ampere", IEEE Global History Network. facts only, no text reused. ieeeghn.org
  12. "Biography of Andre Marie Ampere". facts only, no text reused. simplyknowledge.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article André-Marie Ampère (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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