In 1802, an Italian jurist Romagnosi discovered that a current carrying wire affects a nearby magnetic needle in much the same way as a magnet affects it. In 1820 Oersted made a similar observation. It was Ampere who made a significant contribution in further understanding of the magnetic effects, associated with currents. Biot and Savart then experimentally established the factors, on which the magnetic field produced by a current carrying conductor, depends.