and was against the corpuscular theory. The work done by Ampere in the field of Electromagnetism was his
greatest contribution. In September 1820 a Danish scientist named Hans Christian Orsted produced some
experimental results in the field of magnetism. Ampere reacted quickly to the discovery and by the end of
September he had discovered electrodynamical forces between linear current conductors. He also realized that
the deflection of a compass needle caused by an electric current flowing through it could be used to measure the
magnitude of the current. This concept led to the development of the galvanometer. He presented his discoveries
to the Academy in November 1820, and published his work in the Annales de Chimie et de Physique. In 1826,
Amperes seminal work in the field of electromagnetism culminated in the publication, of the Memoir on the
Mathematical Theory of Electrodynamic Phenomena, Uniquely Deduced from Experience. It included a
rigorous mathematical derivation of the electrodynamic force law and was substantiated by four experiments.
Amperes Personal Life
Amperes personal life was rather tragic. The French Revolution which started in 1789, greatly influenced his
teenage years. In 1793, when the Republican army captured Lyons, Ampere's father a wealthy city official was
sent to the guillotine. This had a devastating effect on Ampere, and he gave up his studies for eighteen months
to cope with the trauma. Things improved when he met Julie and was engaged to marry her in 1797. However,
soon after, their marriage Julie died in 1803. He remarried in 1806, but the consequences were barely pleasant,
resulting in a separation in less than a year. Ampere never recovered completely from these personal tragedies
and the epitaph he choose for his gravestone says Tandem Felix ('Happy at last')