André-Marie Ampère was born on January 20, 1775 at Poleymieux, sixteen miles away from the city of Lyons, France to a wealthy business family during the height of French Enlightenment. His father, Jean-Jacques Ampère, was a great admirer of the philosophy of Jean-Jacques Rousseau who argued that education should be direct from nature. Since Jean-Jacques Ampère did not believe in formal schooling, he actualized this idea by educating Ampere within the walls of his well-stocked library.
At an early age, André-Marie Ampère has read all the articles in L’Encyclopedie in alphabetical order. Later in life, he could even recall them from memory. Ampère started teaching himself mathematics at the age of 12. At 13, he was already writing a treatise about conic sections and submitted a paper to the Academie de Lyon, but his work was rejected because he lacked the exposure to contemporary mathematics and advancement in research. However, the rejection has inspired him to study Calculus and further his knowledge in mathematics. At 18, he knew how to speak Italian and Greek.
André-Marie Ampère’s Journey as a Teacher
Ampère was appointed professor of chemistry and physics at Bourg École Centrale in1802 but the majority of his studies were in mathematics. In 1803, he submitted “The Mathematical Theory of Games,” a treatise on ‘probability.’ He was recognized as a mathematics teacher and researcher in 1804 and was employed as a tutor in École Polytechnique. Despite the lack of formal education, his reputation was enough to get him the position of professor in 1809 and continued to hold this post until 1828.
André-Marie Ampère’s work in electrodynamics
André-Marie Ampère was involved in the development of the theory of light in 1816. Ampere was a voracious reader and had great passion in the sphere of science.
He was usually considered as the first person to discover electromagnetism. He is credited for the invention of the astatic needle which is the vital component of the static galvanometer. He was also the first one to determine that when two wires are charged with electricity, it generates a magnetic field.
In 1820, H.C Ørsted accidentally discovered the phenomenon establishing the relationship between magnetism and electricity. Ampère performed a series of experiments to clarify the exact nature of its relationship and performed his famous formula law on electromagnetism which was later known as the Ampère law. And his findings were reported in the Académie des Sciences one week after Ørsted’s discovery. His theory in electromagnetism was his greatest contribution.
André-Marie Ampère’s personal life
Despite Ampere’s celebrated accomplishments, his life was a rather tragic one. His father, Jean-Jacques Ampère was called to serve as a justice by the new revolutionary government but in 1792 he was guillotined when he resisted the new political tides of the Jacobin faction who seized control of the government. André-Marie Ampère met Julie Carron and married her in 1799. A year later they had a son he named after his father Jean-Jacques. Julie died in 1803, and he remarried in 1806 resulting in separation a year afterward. André-Marie Ampère never completely recovered from his personal tragedies and his last days were marked by distaste and mental fatigue for most subjects except sciences and mathematics.
André-Marie Ampère died in Marseilles on June 10, 1836. He was immortalized in 1881 during an international convention when Ampère was established as a standard for electrical measurement.
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