Andre Marie Ampere - Mathematicians, Family and Childhood
Andre Marie Ampere's Personal Details
A great French physicist and mathematician, Andre Marie Ampere is remembered for his contribution towards of classical electromagnetism
| Information | Detail |
|---|---|
| Birthday | January 20, 1775 |
| Died on | June 10, 1836 |
| Nationality | French |
| Famous | Scientists, Mathematicians, Physicists, Mathematicians, Physicists |
| Universities |
|
| Discoveries / Inventions |
|
| Birth Place | Parish of St. Nizier, Lyon, France |
| Gender | Male |
| Father | Jean-Jacques Ampère |
| Mother | Jeanne Antoinette Desutières-Sarcey Ampère |
| Sun Sign | Capricorn |
| Born in | Parish of St. Nizier, Lyon, France |
| Famous as | Physicist and Mathematician |
| Died at Age | 61 |
// Famous Physicists
Walter Kohn
Nobel Laureate Walter Kohn was an Austrian-born American theoretical chemist and physicist. Check out this biography to know about his childhood, life, achievements, works & timeline.
Amedeo Avogadro
Amedeo Avogadro was an Italian scientist who formulated what is now known as Avogadro's law. This biography of Amedeo Avogadro provides detailed information about his childhood, life, achievements, works & timeline.
Gabriel Lippmann
Gabriel Lippmann was a French physicist and inventor. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1908. This biography of Lippmann provides detailed information about his childhood, life, research, achievements and timeline.
Andre Marie Ampere's photo
Who is Andre Marie Ampere?
.Andre Marie Ampere was a French physicist and one of the founders of electrodynamics (electromagnetism). He was also an acclaimed mathematician with interests in several other fields like history, philosophy, and natural sciences. Born during the height of the French Enlightenment, he had the fortune of growing up in an intellectually stimulating atmosphere. The France of his youth was marked by wide-spread developments in sciences and arts, and the French Revolution which began when he was a young man also played an influential role in shaping his future life. The son of a prosperous businessman, he was encouraged from a young age to seek knowledge in a variety of subjects. He became fascinated with mathematics and science among other subjects, and grew up to become a professor of mathematics. A brilliant man with in-depth knowledge in various subjects, he also taught philosophy and astronomy at the University of Paris. Along with his academic career, Ampere also engaged in scientific experiments in diverse fields, and was particularly intrigued by the works of Hans Christian Oersted who had discovered a link between electricity and magnetism. Extending Oersted’s experimental work, Ampere made several more discoveries in the field which became known as electromagnetism or electrodynamics, and is regarded as one of the founders of this important branch of theoretical physics.
// Famous Mathematicians
Brahmagupta
Brahmagupta was a highly accomplished ancient Indian astronomer and mathematician. This biography of Brahmagupta provides detailed information about his childhood, life, achievements, works & timeline.
Giovanni Domenico Cassini
Giovanni Cassini was a 17th century Italian mathematician, astronomer and astrologer. This biography of Giovanni Cassini provides detailed information about his childhood, life, achievements, works & timeline.
Pythagoras
Pythagoras of Samos was a Greek mathematician and philosopher. Read on to learn more about Pythagoras’s profile, childhood, life and timeline.
Childhood & Early Life
Andre Marie Ampere was born on 20 January 1775 to Jean-Jacques Ampere and Jeanne Antoinette Desutières-Sarcey Ampere. His father was a prosperous businessman. Ampere had two sisters.
His father greatly admired the philosophy of Jean-Jacques Rousseau who believed that young boys should avoid formal schooling and pursue instead an “education direct from nature”. Thus he did not send his son to school and instead let him educate himself with the help of the books in his well-stocked library.
As a child, Ampere was very curious and developed an insatiable thirst for knowledge. He became a voracious reader under the guidance of his father and read books on mathematics, history, travels, poetry, philosophy, and the natural sciences. Along with his interest in the sciences, he also became interested in the Catholic faith as his mother was a very devout woman.
He was particularly fascinated by mathematics and began studying the subject seriously when he was 13. His father encouraged his intellectual pursuits and obtained specialized books on the subject for him, and arranged for him to get formal lessons in calculus from Abbot Daburon. During this time Andre also began studying physics.
The French Revolution began in 1789 when Andre was 14. His father was called into public service by the new revolutionary government and made a justice of the peace in a small town near Lyon.
His family suffered a tragedy when one of his sisters died in 1792. Another tragedy followed when the Jacobin faction seized control of the Revolutionary government in 1792 and guillotined his father in November 1793. Devastated by these terrible losses, he abandoned his studies for a year.
Career
Ampere started working as a private mathematics tutor in Lyon in 1797. He proved to be an excellent teacher and students began flocking to him for guidance in no time. His success as a tuition teacher brought him to the attention of the intellectuals in Lyon who were greatly impressed by the young man’s knowledge.
He found a regular job as a mathematics teacher in 1799. Within a few years, he was appointed a professor of physics and chemistry at the École Centrale in Bourg-en-Bresse in 1802. During this time, he also researched mathematics and produced ‘Considérations sur la théorie mathématique de jeu’ (“Considerations on the Mathematical Theory of Games”, 1802).
He obtained a teaching position at the recently opened École Polytechnique in 1804. He was much successful in this position, and was appointed a professor of mathematics at the school in 1809 despite his lack of formal qualifications, a position he would hold till 1828. Ampere was elected to the French Academy of Sciences in 1814.
He also engaged in scientific and mathematical research alongside his academic career, and taught subjects like philosophy and astronomy at the University of Paris in 1819-20. He was elected to the prestigious chair in experimental physics at the Collège de France in 1824.
In April 1820, Danish physicist Hans Christian Oersted discovered a link between electricity and magnetism – electromagnetism. A few months later, Ampere’s friend François Arago demonstrated Oersted’s electromagnetic effect to the members of the French Academy in Paris.
Ampere was fascinated by Oersted’s electromagnetic discoveries and began working on them himself. After rigorous experiments, Ampere showed that two parallel wires carrying electric currents attract or repel each other, depending on whether the currents flow in the same or opposite directions, respectively.
Gifted in both mathematics and physics, Ampere applied mathematics in generalizing physical laws from these experimental results, and discovered the principle that came to be called “Ampere’s law”. His works provided a physical understanding of the electromagnetic relationship, theorizing the existence of an “electrodynamic molecule” that served as the component element of both electricity and magnetism.
After years of intensive research and experimentation, Ampere published ‘Mémoire sur la théorie mathématique des phénomènes électrodynamiques uniquement déduite de l’experience’ (“Memoir on the Mathematical Theory of Electrodynamic Phenomena, Uniquely Deduced from Experience”) in 1827. The name of the new science, “Electrodynamics” was coined in this work which became known as its founding treatise.
Major Works
He formulated Ampere's Law which states that the mutual action of two lengths of current-carrying wire is proportional to their lengths and to the intensities of their currents.
He is considered the first person to discover electromagnetism. One of his major contributions to classical electromagnetism was Ampere’s circuital law, which relates the integrated magnetic field around a closed loop to the electric current passing through the loop.
He is credited for the invention of the astatic needle, a vital component of the modern astatic galvanometer.
Awards & Achievements
Ampere was elected a Foreign Member of the Royal Society in 1827, and a Foreign Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Science in 1828.
Personal Life & Legacy
Andre Marie Ampere married Catherine-Antoinette Carron in 1799. A son was born to them a year later. However tragedy struck the young family when his wife became ill with cancer and died in 1803.
He married Jeanne-Françoise Potot in 1806. This marriage proved to be a disaster from the very beginning and the couple separated soon after the birth of their only daughter.
He died in the city of Marseilles on 10 June 1836, after contracting pneumonia.
The unit of measurement of electric current, the ampere—named after him in recognition of his contribution to the creation of modern electrical science—was established as a standard unit of electrical measurement at an international convention signed in 1881.
His name is one of the 72 names inscribed on the Eiffel Tower.
// Famous Physicists
Henry Cavendish
Henry Cavendish was a theoretical chemist and physicist, renowned for discovery of hydrogen and calculation of the mass of earth. To know more about his childhood, profile, timeline and career read on
Walter Kohn
Nobel Laureate Walter Kohn was an Austrian-born American theoretical chemist and physicist. Check out this biography to know about his childhood, life, achievements, works & timeline.
Nikola Tesla
Nikola Tesla was a Serbian-American inventor, best known for his development of alternating current electrical systems. This biography of Nikola Tesla provides detailed information about his childhood, life, achievements, works & timeline.
Andre Marie Ampere biography timelines
- // 20th Jan 1775Andre Marie Ampere was born on 20 January 1775 to Jean-Jacques Ampere and Jeanne Antoinette Desutières-Sarcey Ampere. His father was a prosperous businessman. Ampere had two sisters.
- // 1789The French Revolution began in 1789 when Andre was 14. His father was called into public service by the new revolutionary government and made a justice of the peace in a small town near Lyon.
- // 1797Ampere started working as a private mathematics tutor in Lyon in 1797. He proved to be an excellent teacher and students began flocking to him for guidance in no time. His success as a tuition teacher brought him to the attention of the intellectuals in Lyon who were greatly impressed by the young man’s knowledge.
- // 1799 To 1802He found a regular job as a mathematics teacher in 1799. Within a few years, he was appointed a professor of physics and chemistry at the École Centrale in Bourg-en-Bresse in 1802. During this time, he also researched mathematics and produced ‘Considérations sur la théorie mathématique de jeu’ (“Considerations on the Mathematical Theory of Games”, 1802).
- // 1799 To 1803Andre Marie Ampere married Catherine-Antoinette Carron in 1799. A son was born to them a year later. However tragedy struck the young family when his wife became ill with cancer and died in 1803.
- // 1804 To 1828He obtained a teaching position at the recently opened École Polytechnique in 1804. He was much successful in this position, and was appointed a professor of mathematics at the school in 1809 despite his lack of formal qualifications, a position he would hold till 1828. Ampere was elected to the French Academy of Sciences in 1814.
- // 1806He married Jeanne-Françoise Potot in 1806. This marriage proved to be a disaster from the very beginning and the couple separated soon after the birth of their only daughter.
- // 1819 To 1824He also engaged in scientific and mathematical research alongside his academic career, and taught subjects like philosophy and astronomy at the University of Paris in 1819-20. He was elected to the prestigious chair in experimental physics at the Collège de France in 1824.
- // Apr 1820In April 1820, Danish physicist Hans Christian Oersted discovered a link between electricity and magnetism – electromagnetism. A few months later, Ampere’s friend François Arago demonstrated Oersted’s electromagnetic effect to the members of the French Academy in Paris.
- // 1827After years of intensive research and experimentation, Ampere published ‘Mémoire sur la théorie mathématique des phénomènes électrodynamiques uniquement déduite de l’experience’ (“Memoir on the Mathematical Theory of Electrodynamic Phenomena, Uniquely Deduced from Experience”) in 1827. The name of the new science, “Electrodynamics” was coined in this work which became known as its founding treatise.
- // 1827 To 1828Ampere was elected a Foreign Member of the Royal Society in 1827, and a Foreign Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Science in 1828.
- // 10th Jun 1836He died in the city of Marseilles on 10 June 1836, after contracting pneumonia.
- // 1881The unit of measurement of electric current, the ampere—named after him in recognition of his contribution to the creation of modern electrical science—was established as a standard unit of electrical measurement at an international convention signed in 1881.
// Famous Mathematicians
Grigori Perelman
Grigori Perelman is a Russian mathematician who is best known for his contributions to Riemannian geometry and geometric topology. Check out this biography to know about his childhood, family life, achievements and fun facts about him.
Terence Tao
Terence Tao is an Australian- American mathematician who has contributed enormously to the field of mathematics. Check out this biography to know about his childhood, family life and achievements.
Isaac Newton
Isaac Newton was an English scientist and mathematician, who discovered gravitation and Newtonian Mechanics. Read this biography to find more on his life.
Brahmagupta
Brahmagupta was a highly accomplished ancient Indian astronomer and mathematician. This biography of Brahmagupta provides detailed information about his childhood, life, achievements, works & timeline.
Giovanni Domenico Cassini
Giovanni Cassini was a 17th century Italian mathematician, astronomer and astrologer. This biography of Giovanni Cassini provides detailed information about his childhood, life, achievements, works & timeline.
Bhāskara II
Bhaskara II was a 12th century Indian mathematician. This biography of Bhaskara II provides detailed information about his childhood, life, achievements, works & timeline.
Andre Marie Ampere's FAQ
What is Andre Marie Ampere birthday?
Andre Marie Ampere was born at 1775-01-20
When was Andre Marie Ampere died?
Andre Marie Ampere was died at 1836-06-10
Where was Andre Marie Ampere died?
Andre Marie Ampere was died in Marseille, France
Which age was Andre Marie Ampere died?
Andre Marie Ampere was died at age 61
Where is Andre Marie Ampere's birth place?
Andre Marie Ampere was born in Parish of St. Nizier, Lyon, France
What is Andre Marie Ampere nationalities?
Andre Marie Ampere's nationalities is French
What was Andre Marie Ampere universities?
Andre Marie Ampere studied at École Polytechnique
What is Andre Marie Ampere's inventions/discoveries?
Classical Electromagnetism was invented (or discovered) by Andre Marie Ampere
Who is Andre Marie Ampere's father?
Andre Marie Ampere's father is Jean-Jacques Ampère
Who is Andre Marie Ampere's mother?
Andre Marie Ampere's mother is Jeanne Antoinette Desutières-Sarcey Ampère
What is Andre Marie Ampere's sun sign?
Andre Marie Ampere is Capricorn
How famous is Andre Marie Ampere?
Andre Marie Ampere is famouse as Physicist and Mathematician