Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark has accepted a new patronage. His Royal Highness has agreed to become patron of HCØ2020, the Danish nationwide celebration of the 200th anniversary of the discovery of electromagnetism, according to the Danish Royal House in a statement on Tuesday.
The 200th anniversary of the discovery is celebrated this year under the name HCØ2020 with a number of exhibitions, new teaching materials, lectures and debates, and the Crown Prince has agreed to become patron for the entire anniversary year.
Crown Prince Frederik has long been strongly interested in science and technology. Despite this, the Crown Prince does not have any natural science education, only political science. The Crown Prince is expected to attend a number of events related to his new patronage.
The Danish heir to the throne is already a protector of a number of foundations and organisations. Aarhus Student Singers, The Blood Donors in Denmark, Danish-Chinese Business Forum, The Danish Hunters’ Association, Danish Military Sports Association, The Greenlandic Company, The Foreign Policy Society, Danish Railway Museum, Save the Children and the Maritime Safety Council are just some of the groups that have the royal support of Crown Prince Frederik.
The purpose of HCØ2020 is to promote technical and scientific education across all ages. Likewise, the initiative must help increase interest in science and the future of technology. HCØ2020 is highlighted through a wide range of dissemination efforts, which include 12 signature projects covering the three main areas of the initiative: teaching, culture and science.
In 1820, the Danish physicist and chemist Hans Christian Ørsted discovered electromagnetism. It was a natural science event that enabled the development of modern society. Ørsted’s discovery that electric current causes magnetism spurred the Englishman Michael Faraday to try to do the opposite, to convert magnetism into electricity. Eleven years after Ørsted’s discovery, Faraday succeeded in inducing an electric current with the help of magnetism. Hans Christian Ørsted is also known as the first man ever to make aluminium in 1825.
