William Gilbert (1544-1603)

In the late 16th and early 17th centuries, magnetism was a central topic of philosophy, science, and medicine. The English scientist and physician William Gilbert was one of the most prominent authors on magnetic phenomena. In 1600, the same year he became court physician to Queen Elizabeth I, Gilbert published De magnete, magnetisque corporibus, et de magno magnete tellure (On the magnet, magnetic bodies, and the great magnet Earth). Before Gilbert, the study of magnetism had been dormant for 2000 years. Gilbert described the Earth’s magnetic poles, and stated that the lodestone (magnetic rock) could be “beneficial in many diseases of the human system”. Gilbert’s work brought new awareness to magnetism as a physical force, and also created widespread interest in healing with magnetism. This set the stage for the magnetic healing of Maximilian Hell in the 1770s, which led to Mesmer's theory of animal magnetism and the practice of mesmerism.