André-Marie Ampère (UK: , US: ; French: [ɑ̃pɛʁ]; 20 January 1775 – 10 June 1836) was a French physicist, mathematician and lay catholic who was one of the founders of the science of classical electromagnetism, which he referred to as "electrodynamics". He is also the inventor of numerous applications, such as the solenoid (a term coined by him) and the electrical telegraph. As an autodidact, Ampère was a member of the French Academy of Sciences and professor at the École polytechnique and the Collège de France.
