The centennial of the discoveries of Oersted, Arago, and Ampère

IT is eminently fitting that the Pacific Coast members of the Institute, in convention assembled, should pause in their labors on present day problems and consider the significance of this day and year as the hundredth anniversary of the fundamental discoveries of Oersted, Arago, and Ampère. One hundred years ago today, the 21st of July, 1820, Oersted announced his notable discovery of the directive effect of the electric current on the magnetic needle; this year is likewise the centennial of Ampère's brilliant achievement in determining the laws of electrodynamics.