Hans Oersted discovered that an electric current creates a magnetic field, making electromagnetism the key to modern communication.
Oersted spent little time at school as a child, but managed to gain a degree in pharmacy at Copenhagen University. He began working as a pharmacist, but his true passion was physics. He toured Europe for two years studying science, then returned home to give popular public lectures on the subject.
He began a quiet revolution as Professor of Physics at Copenhagen University in 1806, helping bring Danish science up to the international standards reached by other countries. He also founded the Danish Society for the Promotion of Natural Science.
Oersted made his breakthrough experiment, in front of a group of unimpressed students, in 1820. There were no sparks and no explosion, just a slight wobble of a compass needle, but it set his heart racing and was enough to prove his theory.
