A D V E N T U R E S in C Y B E R S O U N DWilliam Gilbert (Gilberd), Dr Sir : 1544 - 1603
William Gilbert was born in Colchester, England, into a middle class family of some wealth. He entered St. John's College, Cambridge, in 1558 and obtained an B.A. in 1561, an M.A. in 1564, and finally an M.D. in 1569. Upon receiving this last degree, he became a senior fellow of the college, where he held several offices. Gilbert set up a medical practice in London in the 1570s and became a member of the Royal College of Physicians (the body that regulated the practice of medicine in London and vicinity). He held a number of offices in the college and in 1600 was elected president. He never married. Gilbert's De Magnete ("On the Magnet") was published in 1600 and quickly became the standard work throughout Europe on electrical and magnetic phenomena. Europeans were making long voyages across oceans, and the magnetic compass was one of the few instruments that could save them from being hopelessly (and usually fatally) lost. But little was known about the lodestone (magnetic iron ore) or magnetized iron. Gilbert tested many folk tales. Does garlic destroy the magnetic effect of the compass needle? More importantly, he made the first clear distinction between magnetic and the amber effect (static electricity, as we call it). De Magnete is a comprehensive review of what was known about the nature of magnetism, and Gilbert added much knowledge through his own experiments. He likened the polarity of the magnet to the polarity of the Earth and built an entire magnetic philosophy on this analogy. In Gilbert's animistic explanation, magnetism was the soul of the Earth and a perfectly spherical lodestone, when aligned with the Earth's poles, would spin on its axis, just as the Earth spins on its axis in 24 hours. (In traditional cosmology the Earth was fixed and it was the sphere of the fixed stars, carrying the other heavens with it, that rotated in 24 hours.) Gilbert did not, however, express an opinion as to whether this rotating Earth was at the center of the universe or in orbit around the Sun. Since the Copernican cosmology needed a new physics to undergird it, Copernicans such as Johannes Kepler and Galileo were very interested in Gilbert's magnetic researches. Galileo's efforts to make a truly powerful armed lodestone for his patrons probably date from his reading of Gilbert's book. Several of Gilbert's unpublished and unfinished works were published in 1651 by his younger half brother under the title De Mundo Nostro Sublunari Philosophia Nova ("New Philosophy about our Sublunary World"). This work had little impact.
The English physician William Gilbert (also known as William of Colchester), b. May 24, 1544, d. Dec. 10, 1603, is known for his early studies on electricity and magnetism. His De magnete (1600) propounded the theory that the earth was a giant lodestone with north and south magnetic poles. His theory that the earth exerted a magnetic influence throughout the solar system was a precursor to the modern conception of gravity as an attracting force between masses. Gilbert was among the first to divide substances into electrics (spar, glass, amber) and nonelectrics. Catherine Wilson Source: The New Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia
William Gilbert 1. Dates Born: Colchester, 1544. Until this century, Gilbert's birth was universally placed in 1540. 1544 has now been established on good evidence. Died: probably London, 30 Nov. 1603. He was buried in an Anglican church in Colchester. 2. Father Occupation:Magistrate Jerome Gilbert was the recorder of Colchester. One source listed him as a merchant. Clearly his own forebears were merchants and made a fortune at it. None of the good sources says a word about Jerome Gilbert being a merchant. Evidently prosperous. 4. Education Schooling: Cambridge, M.A., M.D. St. John College, Cambridge, 1558-69 or 70; B.A., 1561; M.A., 1564; M.D., 1569. 6. Scientific Disciplines Primary: Magnetism Subordinate: Electricity, Natural Philosophy De magnete, 1600, is the enduring basis of Gilbert's fame. Posthumously, De mundo nostro sublunari philosophia nova was published in 1651. This is really two works put together as one from Gilbert's manuscripts by Gilbert's half brother; he himself never intended them as parts of one book. More than De magnete, the two treatises that make up De mundo strove toward a general natural philosophy. 7. Means of Support Primary: Medicine Secondary: Academia, Personal Means, Patronage At Cambridge he became a Junior Fellow of St. Johns in 1561. He was the mathematics examiner in the college, 1565-6 and bursar, 1569-70. He became a Senior Fellow in 1569. Nothing is known about his activities from 1569 (or 70) until the mid or late 70s. There is good evidence that De Magnete was completed quite a few years before it was published, and possibly Gilbert devoted these unknown years to his magnetical research. Something would have had to support him. He is known to have inherited property from his father, and it is possible that he inherited Wingfield House, his residence in London, from his step-mother (a Wingfield), sometime before 1583. Medical practice, from perhaps 1577 to 1603. He was one of the prominent physicians in London, consulted among others by the aristocracy. One of the personal physicians to Elizabeth I, 1600-03. He received a persion of L 100 (which is hard to distinguish from a salary) from the Queen. Note that this relation to the court came only near the end of Gilbert's life. Physician to James I, 1603. 8. Patronage Type: Court Official He obtained his grant of arms from Elizabeth in 1577. He was appointed physician to Elizabeth in 1600 and kept the position until Elizabeth died. After the death of Elizabeth he became James I's physician and held the position until his own death. Note that Gilbert, a promient and probably wealthy physician, did not dedicate De magnete to anyone. On the contrary, it is dedicated to Gilbert by Edward Wright, who wrote the dedicatory epistle. 9. Technological Involvement Types: Medical Practice, Pharmacology, Navigation, Instruments He participated in the compilation of the College of Physicians' Pharmacopoeia. He specifically proposed the use of magnetic declination and dip to determine longitude and latitude. Thomas Blundevelle describes the two instruments of Gilbert's invention intended for these purposes. The Versorium for magnetic investigations, and a similar device for electrical. I considered briefly adding Cartography to this list because Gilbert did prepare a map of the moon (in De mundo). However, recall that this was before the telescope. I have seen the map. It is more a sketch than a map, and does not involve any of the skills of cartography. 10. Scientific Societies Membership: Medical College Informal Connections: He knew Thomas Wright and William Barlowe. The older literature on Gilbert abounds in stories of a proto-society that met in his home, Wingfield House. This has been shown to rest on no solid evidence whatever. The older literature also credits him with correspondence with Giovanfrancesco Sagredo (Galileo's friend and patron) and Paolo Sarpi. These correspondences are likewise figments of the imagination. Royal College of Physicians, before 1581; Censor, 1581, 1582, 1584-87, 1589-90; Treasurer, 1587-94, 1597-99; Elector, 1596-97; Consilarius, 1597-9; President, 1600. Sources
Compiled by: Richard S. Westfall Department of History and Philosophy of Science
edited by Dr Russell Naughton
Physician and physicist, born in Colchester, Essex. After a period at Cambridge, he was appointed physician to Elizabeth I. In 1600, he published De Magnete the first book on electrical phenomena. He established the magnetic nature of the Earth, and conjectured that terrestrial magnetism and electricity were two allied emanations of a single force. Gilbert also invented the electroscope* which detected electromagnetic energy in the body and was the first person to use the word "electricity","electric force" and "electric attraction" The unit of magnetomotive power is called the gilbert in his honour
* B. Eric Rhoads
William Gilbert was born in Colchester, England, into a middle class family of some wealth. He entered St. John's College, Cambridge, in 1558 and obtained an B.A. in 1561, an M.A. in 1564, and finally an M.D. in 1569. Upon receiving this last degree, he became a senior fellow of the college, where he held several offices. Gilbert set up a medical practice in London in the 1570s and became a member of the Royal College of Physicians (the body that regulated the practice of medicine in London and vicinity). He held a number of offices in the college and in 1600 was elected president. He never married.
 Title page of the original Latin edition of De Magnete, London, 1600
Europeans were making long voyages across oceans, and the magnetic compass was one of the few instruments that could save them from being hopelessly (and usually fatally) lost. But little was known about the lodestone (magnetic iron ore) or magnetized iron. Gilbert tested many folk tales. Does garlic destroy the magnetic effect of the compass needle? More importantly, he made the first clear distinction between magnetic and the amber effect (static electricity, as we call it). De Magnete is a comprehensive review of what was known about the nature of magnetism, and Gilbert added much knowledge through his own experiments. He likened the polarity of the magnet to the polarity of the Earth and built an entire magnetic philosophy on this analogy.
 Cover page of the original Latin edition of De Magnete, London, 1600
Gilbert did not, however, express an opinion as to whether this rotating Earth was at the center of the universe or in orbit around the Sun. Since the Copernican cosmology needed a new physics to undergird it, Copernicans such as Johannes Kepler and Galileo were very interested in Gilbert's magnetic researches. Galileo's efforts to make a truly powerful armed lodestone for his patrons probably date from his reading of Gilbert's book. Several of Gilbert's unpublished and unfinished works were published in 1651 by his younger half brother under the title De Mundo Nostro Sublunari Philosophia Nova ("New Philosophy about our Sublunary World"). This work had little impact.
William Gilbert, 1600, De Magnete, Magneticisque Corporibus, et de Magno Magnete Tellure; Physiologia Nova (Concerning the magnet, magnetic bodies, and the Earth as a great magnet; a new science) London. William Gilbert, physician to Queen Elizabeth I, wrote Concerning the Magnet to examine the legends and scientific facts associated with magnets, lodestones, amber, and other materials that possess natural powers to attract or repel. He described the Earth itself as a giant lodestone possessing magnetic properties. Gilbert's book also provides the first published description of electricity, which Gilbert believed to be a type of magnetic response.
William Gilbert also spelled GYLBERDE (b. May 24, 1544, Colchester, Essex, Eng. d. Dec. 10 [Nov. 30, old style], 1603, London or Colchester), pioneer researcher into magnetism who became the most distinguished man of science in England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Educated as a physician, Gilbert settled in London and began to practice in 1573. His principal work, De Magnete, Magneticisque Corporibus, et de Magno Magnete Tellure (1600; William Gilbert of Colchester ...on the Great Magnet of the Earth; 1893), gives a full account of his research on magnetic bodies and electrical attractions. After years of experiments he concluded that a compass needle points north-south and dips downward because the Earth acts as a bar magnet. The first to use the terms electric attraction, electric force, and magnetic pole, he is often considered the father of electrical studies. In 1601 Gilbert was appointed physician to Queen Elizabeth I, and upon her death in 1603 was appointed physician to King James I. He left an unpublished work that was edited by his brother from two manuscripts and published posthumously in 1651 as De Mundo Nostro Sublunari Philosophia Nova ("A New Philosophy of Our Sublunar World"). He held modern views on the structure of the universe, agreeing with Copernicus that the Earth rotates on its axis. He concluded that fixed stars are not all the same distance from the Earth and believed that the planets were held in their orbits by a form of magnetism.
William Gilbert, English physicist and physician, who founded the sciences of electricity and magnetism. Born in Colchester on May 24, 1540, he studied medicine at Cambridge and practiced in London, where he became president of the Royal College of Physicians and personal physician to Queen Elizabeth I and to James I. His monumental work De Magnete, Magneticisque Corporibus, et Magno Magnete Tellure (1600), summing up 18 years of research, not only marked the beginning of scientific thought and method in the fields of electricity and magnetism, but also represented the first book printed in England on experimental physics and the first with a chapter on electricity. In this work Gilbert proposed "to set down nothing ... which hath not been explored and many times performed and repeated amongst us." He fulfilled this promise by erecting from a confusion of fact and fancy about "magneticks" and "electricks" the foundation of an organized science based on experimental findings. For two thousand years before Gilbert, men had marveled at the attractive power of the loadstone, first found at Magnesia in Asia Minor. By Gilbert's time, they had been using the magnetic compass on shipboard for two hundred years or more, but they still could only guess why it pointed north: it was attracted by magnetic mountains, or perhaps by a star in the constellation Great Bear. Gilbert's work offered a truer understanding of magnetism and related phenomena and made the compass a more accurate aid to navigation. With compass and dipping needle, he studied variations in the earth's magnetic field. He shaped a loadstone into a small sphere or terrella (little earth) and brought near it a pivoted iron needle or versorium (turnabout). The needle aligned itself along lines joining the terrella's north and south magnetic poles, indicating that the earth acts as a huge magnet. Since antiquity men had known that jet and amber (elektron, in Greek) rubbed with dry fabric would attract small feathers and other light objects. Gilbert determined experimentally that more than a dozen other substances, for which he coined the name "electricks", had similar properties. He distinguished between electric and magnetic attraction, observing that "loadstone appeals to magneticks only; towards electricks all things move," and that magnetic attraction was usually the stronger. He also discovered the leakage of electricity through moisture; the shielding effect on electric current of sheets of paper, fabric, or metal; and the insulating property of certain materials. He used the world's first instrument to detect magnetic fields. Electrical and magnetic research constituted most, but not all, of Gilbert's scientific work. He was one of the first to support Copernicus' doctrine that the earth is but one of several planets circling the sun, and its corollary by Giordano Bruno that made the sun only one of countless stars in the universe. A pioneer in substituting experimental fact for unsupported conjecture, Gilbert helped establish the scientific method, a contribution praised by Galileo. Gilbert died on Nov. 30, 1603, either in London or in Colchester. Gilbert's major work was issued in translation as On the Magnet (1958). For biographical and critical material, see Doctor William Gilbert (1947) by Bern Dibner; and The Origins of William Gilbert's Scientific Method (1941) by Edgar Silzel.
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