Hansteen, Christopher

Christopher Hansteen, (born Sept. 26, 1784, Christiania [now Oslo], Nor.—died April 15, 1873, Christiania), Norwegian astronomer and physicist noted for his research in geomagnetism.

At the beginning of the 19th century, measurements of geomagnetic intensity had just begun. Hansteen continued the task, taking measurements in London, Paris, Finland, and (1828–30) Siberia. In 1826 he published the first reliable chart of magnetic intensities. Hansteen’s theories of geomagnetism were less successful than his measurements, however, and were ultimately disproved by Carl Friedrich Gauss in 1839.

Hansteen, who joined the faculty of the University of Christiania in 1814, established the first astronomical observatory in Norway (1815) and a magnetic observatory (1841). He was elected to the Académie des Sciences in 1833 and to the Royal Society in 1839.