1775-1836

French mathematician and physicist who made important discoveries toward the understanding of electricity and magnetism. Ampère proposed, with Amedeo Avogadro (1776-1856), that equal volumes of gas at the same pressure and temperature contain the same number of particles. He is better-known for his work that shows that magnetic fields result from the movement of small electrical charges (now known as electrons) and the relationship between distance and magnetic field strength. He is memorialized by the Ampere, a unit measuring electrical current strength.