A younger Hans Christian Oersted, painted in the 19th century

Hans Christian Ørsted (often rendered Oersted in English; b. 14 August 1777 in Rudkøbing, Denmark, d. 9 March 1851 in Copenhagen, Denmark) was a physicist and chemist who is most widely known for observing that electric currents induce magnetic fields, an important aspect of electromagnetism. He shaped post-Kantian philosophy and advances in science throughout the late 19th century.



In 1824 Ørsted founded Selskabet for Naturlærens Udbredelse (SNU), a society to disseminate knowledge of the natural sciences. He was also the founder of predecessor organizations which eventually became the Danish Meteorological Institute and the Danish Patent and Trademark Office. Ørsted was the first modern thinker to explicitly describe and name the thought experiment. A leader of the so-called Danish Golden Age, Ørsted was a close friend of Hans Christian Andersen and the brother of politician and jurist Anders Sandøe Ørsted, who eventually served as Danish prime minister (1853-54).



The Oersted (Oe), the cgs unit of magnetic induction, is named after him.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%98rsted