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1984 BCE
Greece
It is said that Magnes, a Greek shepard, observed that the nails that held his shoes together and the metal tip of his staff were sticking to a rock. This caused him to start digging and he discovered the Lodestone also known as Magnetite. https://www.dowlingmagnets.com/blog/2016/who-discovered-the-very-first-magnet/ -
50 BCE
Rome
Pliny the Elder knew of a hill made of rock that attracted Iron. Pliny tried to give the credit of this phenomenon of the Lodestone to magic. https://www.dowlingmagnets.com/blog/2016/who-discovered-the-very-first-magnet/ -
800
China
They developed a mariner's compass, they navigated using a splinter of lodestone that floated on the water. https://www.dowlingmagnets.com/blog/2016/who-discovered-the-very-first-magnet/ -
1000
Scandinavia
Vikings used Lodestone and iron to create compass-like devices to help guide ships. https://www.dowlingmagnets.com/blog/2016/who-discovered-the-very-first-magnet/ -
1200
France
Petrus Peregrinus created one of the first written accounts on magnets. This included drawings of the first land magnet with the freely pivoting needle! https://www.dowlingmagnets.com/blog/2016/who-discovered-the-very-first-magnet/ -
England
William Gilbert was the first to discover that the Earth was a magnet. Also, that magnets could be made out of iron and magnetism could be lost when iron is heated. https://www.dowlingmagnets.com/blog/2016/who-discovered-the-very-first-magnet/ -
Denmark
Hans Christian Oersted discovered the relationship between magnetism and electricity by seeing that a compass placed next to an electrical wire produced skewed results. https://www.dowlingmagnets.com/blog/2016/who-discovered-the-very-first-magnet/ -
England
William Sturgeon was the first to invent an electromagnet. -
Scotland
J. Thomson discovers the Electron -
Today
Magnets play a role in daily activities, including cell phones, GPS, power generators, etc. https://www.magnetic-magnets.co.nz/technical/A-Brief-History.html
