William Gilbert

William Gilbert was born in Colchester, England, probably in 1544, the son of a borough official. He studied at St John's College, Cambridge, and received his doctorate in medicine in 1569. He then moved to London to practise medicine and travelled on the continent of Europe. In 1573 he was elected a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, and in 1600 he became its president. From 1601 he was physician to Elizabeth I, and James I renewed the appointment. In 1600 he published De Magnete (On the Magnet), describing many careful experiments. Using a small magnetised sphere he called a terrella, a 'little Earth', he concluded that the Earth itself is a magnet and that this is why compass needles point north. He also studied static electricity produced by rubbing amber, and invented the versorium, a pivoted needle that was the first electroscope. He coined the Latin word electricus, meaning 'like amber', from which the English word 'electricity' comes. He rejected the Aristotelian philosophy taught in the universities of his day. He died in 1603.

William Gilbert is also an author in the library: author page and works.

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