This is the narrative of the Scandinavian scientist, Hans Christian Ørsted, the discoverer of electromagnetism. Ørsted was also one of the cultural leaders and organizers of the Danish Golden Age, making significant contributions to aesthetics, philosophy, pedagogy, politics, and religion.

This is the narrative of the Scandinavian scientist, Hans Christian Orsted, the discoverer of electromagnetism. Orsted was also one of the cultural leaders and organizers of the Danish Golden Age, making significant contributions to aesthetics, philosophy, pedagogy, politics, and religion.

Few people know more about Hans Christian Ørsted than his "accidental" discovery of electromagnetism in 1820. Dan Ch. Christensen's definitive biography of Ørsted, now available in English, will change this. Christensen documents the intellectual and philosophical preparations that led to Ørsted's 1820 discovery and his response to the acclaim that followed. While this book is a "must read" for historians of science, its vivid descriptions of intellectual life in the early 1800s will be equally fascinating to lay readers. Read it and enjoy it!