Speaking of William Barlowe, Anthony à Wood says: “This was the person who had knowledge of the magnet twenty years before Dr. Will. Gilbert published his book of that subject, and therefore by those that knew him he was accounted superior, or at least equal, to that doctor for an industrious and happy searcher and finder out of many rare and magnetical secrets” (“Athenæ Oxonienses,” London, 1813, Vol. II. p. 375). Under heading of Gilbert, the “British Museum Catalogue of Printed Books,” 1888, has it that “Mag. Adv.” was compiled partly from “De Magnete.”
References.—Mark Ridley, “Magn. Animad.,” 1617, p. xi; Cavallo, “Magnetism,” 1787, p. 46; A.D. 1302; Sidney Lee, “Dict. of Nat. Biogr.,” Vol. III. pp. 233–234; “La Grande Encycl.” (H. Lamisault), Vol. V. p. 430; Pierre Larousse, “Grand Dict. Univ. du xixe siècle,” Paris, 1867, Vol. II. p. 239; Claude Augé, “Le Nouveau Larousse,” Vol. I. p. 738; “Wood’s Ath. Ox.” (Bliss), Vol. II. p. 375; Hœfer, “Nouv. Biogr. Univ.,” Vol. IV. p. 53; “Biogr. Britannica”; Hutton, “Mathem. Dict.”; “British Annual,” I.
A.D. 1599.—Wright (Edward), English mathematician, connected with the East India Company and author of the Preface to Gilbert’s original “De Magnete,” published in London “Die Havenvinding—The Haven-finding Art: Translation of Simon Stevinus’ ‘Portuum investigandorum ratio,’” in which is urged the advantage of keeping registers of the variations observed on all voyages. Thus, says Lardner, the variation of the variation not only as to time, but as to place, had at this period begun to receive the attention of those engaged in navigation.
Wright constructed for Prince Henry a large sphere which represented the motion of the planets, moon, etc., and he predicted the eclipses for seventeen thousand one hundred years. He is said to have discovered the mode of constructing the chart which is known by the name of Mercator’s Projection.
Simon Stevinus, above mentioned, also called Stephanus—Simon of Bruges—was a most distinguished mathematician and physicist (1548–1628), and is alluded to by Edward Wright not only in the Preface to Gilbert’s “De Magnete” above referred to, but also in Book IV. chap. ix. of the latter work. The English translation of “Portuum investigandorum ratio” was afterwards attached to the third edition of Wright’s “Certaine errors in navigation detected and corrected.”
References.—“English Cycl.,” Vol. VI. p. 834; “Biogr. Génér.,” Vol. XLIV. pp. 496–498; Larousse, “Dict.,” Vol. XIV. p. 1100; G. Hellmann, “Neudrucke ...” 1898, No. 10; “Chambers’ Encycl.,” 1892, Vol. IX., p. 725; “La Grande Encycl.,” Vol. XXX. pp. 489–490; Montucla, “Hist. des Mathém.,” Paris, An. VIII. Vol. II; Quetelet, also Van de Weyer, “Simon Stevin,” 1845; “Mémoires de l’Académie,” Paris, 1753, p. 275; Steichen, “Vie et Travaux de S. Stevin,” 1846; “Terrestrial Magnetism,” Vol. I. p. 153, and Vol. II. pp. 37, 72, 78.
A.D. 1599.—Pancirollus (Guido)—Panciroli (Gui)—already quoted at A.D. 121, further remarks: “The ancients sailed by the pole star, which they call Cynosura. The compass is believed to have been found at Amalfi, about 300 years ago by one Flavius. And this unknown fellow (if it was Flavius) hath deserved more than 10,000 Alexanders and as many Aristotles.... This single act hath improved knowledge and done more good to the world than all the niceties of the subtle schools.”
References.—“History of Things Lost,” London, 1715, Vol. II. p. 338; Græsse, Vol. V. p. 117; also his biography in Larousse, “Dict. Univ.,” Vol. XII. p. 108, and in the “Dict. de Biographie,” Vol. II. p. 2012.
A.D. 1600.—Schwenter (Daniell), Professor of Oriental languages at Altdorff, describes, under the assumed name of Janus Hercules de Sunde, in his “Steganologia et Steganographia,” the means of communicating intelligence at a distance by employing two compass needles circumscribed with an alphabet, the needles being shaped from the same piece of steel, and magnetized by the same magnets.
Under caption “The First Idea of the Electric Telegraph,” the following appeared in the “Journal of the Franklin Institute,” Vol. XXI. 1851, p. 202: “In the number of the Philosophical Magazine for May, 1850, I [N. S. Heineken] observe that Prof. Maunoir claims, for his friend Dr. Odier, the first idea of the electric telegraph. I herewith send you a translation of ‘How two people might communicate with each other at a distance by means of the magnetic needle,’ taken from a German work by Schwenter, entitled ‘Deliciæ Physico-Mathematicæ,’ and published at Nürnberg in 1636 ... upward of a century before the period alluded to by Prof. Maunoir. Indeed, Oersted’s grand discovery was alone wanting to perfect the telegraph in 1636. The idea, in fact, appears to have been entertained prior even to this date, for Schwenter himself quotes, at p. 346, from a previous author.” This “previous author” is either Giambattista della Porta, mentioned at A.D. 1558, or Famianus Strada, who appears herein under the A.D. 1617 date.