Wilhelm Weber

Wilhelm Eduard Weber (1804-1891) was a German physicist noted for his contributions to the theory of magnetism.

The son of a professor of theology, Weber was a Christian who excelled in school and became a professor of natural philosophy. But the great mathematician Gauss recommended that Weber switch to physics, which he did. Weber taught that to understand physics it was necessary to conduct experiments.

Weber wrote a book on the Wave Theory and Fluidity with his brother, and published articles on music. In 1833, Weber and Gauss constructed the first electromagnetic telegraph.

In 1864 Weber published his Electrodynamic Proportional Measures, which contains a system for measuring electric currents. The SI unit for magnetic flux is named after Weber. He is buried in the same cemetery as Max Planck and Max Born.