WILLIAM GILBERT: BIOGRAPHY, EXPERIMENTS AND CONTRIBUTIONS - ARTE - 2024

William Gilbert (1544 - 1603) was a 16th century English physician and natural philosopher. He is known as the father of electrical physics and magnetism. His contributions in these areas are recognized as fundamental pillars of these branches of science.

In the practice of medicine he gained great renown and became the personal physician of Queen Elizabeth I of England, but it was his studies of the earth's magnetic field that earned him a place in posterity.

Wellcome Library, Accession number: 45626i via Wikimedia Commons

His most recognized work is De Magnete, a text published in 1600, which has the merit of having been the first study on physics with real relevance created in England. It was Gilbert who coined the term "electricity."

Other concepts that William Gilbert began to implement were those of electric attraction, electric force and magnetic poles. Much of his texts were not published until after his death.

He communed with Copernicus' vision of the rotation of the earth around the Sun. In addition, he considered that the planets could orbit thanks to some force related to magnetism.

William Gilbert was an opponent of scholasticism, which then dominated formal education. In the same way he criticized the application of Aristotelian philosophy, which was one of the most widespread currents of thought during Gilbert's life.

In addition to his position as a royal physician, Gilbert also held relevant positions within England's medical community, presiding over the Royal College of Physicians, which was the nation's College of Physicians.

Some authors have claimed that the doctor spent several years traveling the world and that is how he became interested in magnetism, but there is no evidence to support these statements in a conclusive way.

Biography

Early years

William Gilbert, also known as Gilberd or Guylberd, was born on May 24, 1544 in Colchester, England, into a free bourgeois or middle class family. His parents were Hierom Guylberd, the town's official registrar, and Elizabeth Coggeshall.

He was the oldest son of the Guylberd-Coggeshall marriage, succeeded by Robert, Margaret and, finally, Hierom. Around 1549 his mother died, and his father married Jane Wingfield with whom he had seven more children: Anne (or Marianne), Prudence, Agnes, Elizabeth, George, William and Ambrose.

In 1558 he entered St. John's College, Cambridge, where he studied the works of Galen, who was then the only authority recognized by the University in the field of medicine. Likewise, he studied mathematics, philosophy, astronomy and Aristotelian physics.

He received the degrees of Bachelor of Arts in 1561, Master of Arts in 1564 and finally Doctor of Medicine in 1569. He soon became a senior fellow at Cambridge University, where he held some positions such as treasurer.

Career as a doctor

Gilbert opened his medical office in London in 1570. He was gaining reputation among the nobles, who widely demanded his services. Despite that, he did not neglect his studies related to magnetism.

In this way, his name was beginning to be recognized in the intellectual circles of the city, which eventually led to Gilbert becoming a member of the Royal College of Physicians.

Also, William Gilbert served during 1588 as one of the members of the Private Council of advisers who were in charge of looking after the health of the members of the Royal Navy. These doctors were selected from the members of the Royal College.

In the aforementioned institution he held different positions of importance, such as supervisor on three occasions, between 1582 and 1590. He was also treasurer between 1587 and 1594 and from 1597 to 1599, in this last period he simultaneously served as an advisor.

Finally, in 1600 Gilbert was elected president of the Royal College of Physicians.

Gilbert demonstrating the magnet before Queen Elizabeth. By Wellcome Images via Wikimedia Commons

However, one of his most prominent positions was that of doctor to Queen Elizabeth I of England, which was granted to him between 1601 until the death of the monarch in March 1603. Afterwards, he briefly held the same position with the successor of the queen, Jacobo I.

He could not hold that position for a long time, because he barely survived the queen for six months.

Career as a scientist

When he already had a certain reputation among the capital's population, Gilbert was appointed commissioner of the direction of the Pharmacopeia Londinensis in 1589. In addition, in that work he was in charge of the writing of a theme known as “Philulae”.

Despite having dedicated himself to medicine, he never abandoned his studies in other areas to try to demystify certain false beliefs that were applied as proven scientific knowledge at the time.

In 1600 he published his most influential work on his studies of the magnetic phenomenon. The title of the text was De magnete, magneticisque corporibus, et de magno magnete tellure; physiologia nova, plurimis & argumentis, & experimentis demonstrata.

Some sources claim that William Gilbert carried out these investigations after his time at the university, but there is no certainty of how long he devoted himself to the subject before publishing the text.

Gilbert's work, De Magnete, was divided into six parts. In the first, he addressed the history and evolution of magnetite. Then he grouped all the physical characteristics with demonstrations made by himself.

He did not stop at De magnete, Gilbert continued his studies in another text, but never published it during his life.

Death

William Gilbert died on November 30, 1603, in London, England. He was 59 years old and never married. He was buried in Colchester, in the Holy Trinity Church Cemetery.

The exact cause of Gilbert's death is not known, but the most widespread version is that it was the bubonic plague, the outbreaks of which were frequent in England in the early 17th century.

His belongings were bequeathed to the Royal College of Physicians bookstore. But none of the elements are preserved since the headquarters of the institution was destroyed in the Great Fire of London, which took place in 1666.

After his death, his brother was commissioned to compile and publish his unpublished works, some incomplete in 1651 in a volume entitled De Mundo Nostro Sublunari Philosophia Nova, but this was not very successful.

A unit of magnetomotive force was named “Gilbert”, as an honor to the contributions of this scientist. That unit is part of the CGS system and corresponds to 0.79577 ampere per turn.

There is also a lunar crater that was named after his last name and that of geologist Grove Karl Gilbert.

Myths

Little information exists about his life in the decade after graduation. However, some sources assure that, during that time, William Gilbert undertook a series of trips.

He was probably traveling the European continent and deepening his studies. Some think that he may have met the Italian Giordano Bruno, because they both shared Copernicus' vision about the order of the solar system, although there is no evidence that this meeting happened.

It has also been stated that it was because of his relationship with sailors on trips that his interest in the study of magnetism was born, since he tried to understand the operation of the compasses that they used to orient themselves in ships.

Experiments performed

The earth as a magnet

Gilbert proposed that the entire planet was magnetized, so it had to fulfill the function of a gigantic magnet, contrary to what was thought up to now that it indicated that compasses were attracted by a magnetic island or a star.

His experiment to corroborate this approach was to use a large sphere of magnetite, which he called "terrella" and place a magnetized needle on its surface. In this way he confirmed that said needle behaved like a compass.

Electric attraction

He described that when rubbing an amber stone, it generated attraction to different materials with different characteristics, such as paper, small drops of water or hair and other light elements.

Magnetic attraction

Using his terrella, Gilbert concluded that the magnetic attraction propagated in all directions. He also noticed that only some things of metallic composition were attracted and that the force of this attraction gradually increased as the magnet was brought closer to the object.

Likewise, Gilbert affirmed that the magnetic attraction was capable of passing through a burning flame.

Magnetization

William Gilbert discovered how wrought iron could be magnetized through a process in which a red-hot rod facing north to south was hammered on an anvil.

He also noticed that when he reapplied heat to the bar, its magnetic properties were lost.

Contributions to science

By magnete

In this work William Gilbert proposed a model in which he affirmed that the Earth was magnetic in itself. He believed that that was why the compasses pointed north and not because there was attraction to a star or magnetic island.

But that was not the only point covered in the work, which consisted of six volumes, but also addressed the concepts of static electricity and the properties of magnets.

The word electricity came from that text, since Gilbert was the first to refer to the term "electricus." This was the adjective he decided to use to refer to the effects of amber, which in Greek was known as elektron and in Latin as electrum.

Gilbert also referenced novel concepts, such as electrical force and electrical emanation. Likewise, he was the first to talk about magnetic poles: he called the pole pointing north south and vice versa.

These volumes by William Gilbert were the first relevant texts on the physical sciences written in England. The next book, De mundo, did not have the same importance since it did not generate as much innovation as De Magnete did.

Book I

In the first section Gilbert was in charge of showing the history of magnetism from the first myths to the knowledge that existed during the 16th century. In that volume, he claimed that the Earth was magnetic, thus opening the series with which he supported his claim.

Book II

In that text the differentiation of concepts between electricity and magnetism was raised. He described the characteristics of what can happen when rubbing an amber stone, which electrically charged can attract different types of materials.

This behavior did not have the same characteristics of magnetism, which could only create attraction with some metals. It also did not possess the properties of heat, so it also differentiated them.

Book III

He proposed that the angle of the ecliptic and the equinoxes are caused by the magnetism of the heavenly bodies, including the earth. This theory was later shown to be incorrect.

Book IV

It showed that, as was known, compasses do not always point to true north, but that they can have variations. His main contribution in this volume was to demonstrate how this variation could be measured and which were the errors that occurred most frequently.

Book V

There he described the phenomenon known as "magnetic sinking", related to the difference in the angle between the horizon and the needle of a compass, which varies with respect to the latitude in which the said instrument is located.

Book VI

In the last volume, Gilbert rejected the Aristotelian theory of immobile celestial bodies in fixed spheres, for which there was no evidence. Instead he supported the Copernican theory that the Earth rotated on its axis from west to east.

In addition, Gilbert affirmed that thanks to that the four seasons were produced on the planet. He also said that this rotation could explain the precession of the equinoxes, with which the Earth's axis of rotation gradually changes.

Published works

- De Magnete, Magnetisque Corporoibus, et de Magno Magnete Tellure: Physiologia noua, Plurimis & Argumentis, & Experimentis Demonstrata (1600). London: Peter Short.

- From Mundo Nostro Sublunari Philosophia Nova (1651). Amsterdam: Apud Ludovicum Elzevirium. Published posthumously.

References

1. Encyclopedia Britannica. (2019). William Gilbert - Biography & Facts. Available at: britannica.com.
2. En.wikipedia.org. (2019). William Gilbert (astronomer). Available at: en.wikipedia.org.
3. Mills, A. (2011). William Gilbert and 'Magnetization by Percussion'. Notes and Records of the Royal Society, 65 (4), pp. 411-416.
4. Bbc.co.uk. (2014). BBC - History - Historic Figures: William Gilbert (1544 - 1603). Available at: bbc.co.uk.
5. Encyclopedia.com. (2019). William Gilbert - Encyclopedia.com. Available at: encyclopedia.com.
6. Gilbert, W. (2010). On the magnet, magnetick bodies also, and on the great magnet the earth a new physiology, demonstrated by many arguments and experiments. Project Gutenberg.