Born: 14 August 1777 · Died: 9 March 1851 · Age at death: 73
How old was Hans Christian Ørsted when he died?
Hans Christian Ørsted died aged 73. He was born on 14 August 1777 and died on 9 March 1851.
Danish scientist who discovered the connection between electricity and magnetism
Did you know?He was the first person to successfully isolate aluminium as a metal in a laboratory setting.
Quick facts
Date of birth14 August 1777
Date of death9 March 1851
Age at death73
NationalityDanish
BirthplaceRudkøbing, Denmark
Occupationphysicist, chemist, inventor
Editor's Take:
Hans Christian Ørsted made one of the great discoveries in physics during a lecture. He noticed a compass needle twitch when an electric current flowed nearby. His short paper on the effect spread across Europe within weeks. It inspired Ampère and Faraday to build the science of electromagnetism. Motors, generators and modern electronics all trace back to it. Ørsted was also a philosopher and poet. He worked tirelessly to spread scientific education in Denmark.
Key Milestones
1806: Becomes professor at Copenhagen
1820: Discovers electromagnetism
1825: Produces aluminium
1829: Founds what became the Technical University of Denmark
Hans Christian Ørsted (Danish:; 14 August 1777 – 9 March 1851), sometimes transliterated as Oersted ( UR-sted), was a Danish chemist and physicist who discovered that electric currents create magnetic fields. This phenomenon is known as Oersted's law.
