johann wilhelm ritter (16 december 1776 â 23 january 1810) was a german chemist, physicist and philosopher. he was born in samitz (zamienice) near haynau (chojnÃ³w) in silesia (then part of prussia, since 1945 in poland), and died in munich. ==life and work== johann wilhelm ritter's first involvement with science began when he was 14 years old. he became an apprentice to an apothecary in liegnitz (legnica), and acquired a deep interest in chemistry. he began medicine studies at the university of jena in 1796. a self-taught scientist, he made many experimental researches on chemistry, electricity and other fields. ritter belonged to the german romantic movement.walter d. wetzels (1990), "johann wilhelm ritter: romantic physics in germany", in romanticism and the sciences, eds. andrew cunningham and nicholas jardine. cambridge: cambridge university press, pp. 199-212. isbn 0-521-35602-4. he was personally acquainted with johann wolfgang von goethe, alexander von humboldt, johann gottfried herder and clemens brentano. he was strongly influenced by friedrich wilhelm joseph schelling, who was the main philosopher of the naturphilosophie movement. in 1801, hans christian Ãrsted visited jena and became his friend. several of ritter's researches were latter reported by Ãrsted, who was also strongly influenced by the philosophical outlook of naturphilosophie.roberto de andrade martins (2007), "Ãrsted, ritter and magnetochemistry", in hans christian Ãrsted and the romantic legacy in science: ideas, disciplines, practices, eds. r.m. brain, r. s. cohen & o. knudsen (boston studies in the philosophy of science, vol. 241), new york: springer, pp. 339-385. (isbn 978-1-4020-2979-0). ritter's first scientific researches concerned some galvanic phenomena. he interpreted the physiological effects observed by luigi galvani and other researchers as due to the electricity generated by chemical reactions. his interpretation is c
1776_births 1810_deaths German_physicists Natural_philosophers People_from_ChojnA3w