William Gilbert (astronomer)
| William Gilbert | |
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William Gilbert
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| Born | 24 May 1544 Colchester, England |
| Died | 30 November 1603 (aged 59) London, England |
| Nationality | English |
| Fields | Physician |
| Alma mater | St John's College, Cambridge |
| Known for | Studies of magnetism, De Magnete |
William Gilbert (/ˈɡɪlbərt/; 24 May 1544 – 30 November 1603), also known as Gilberd, was an English physician, physicist and natural philosopher. He passionately rejected both the prevailing Aristotelian philosophy and the Scholastic method of university teaching. He is remembered today largely for his book De Magnete (1600), and is credited as one of the originators of the term "electricity". He is regarded by some as the father of electrical engineering or electricity and magnetism.
While today he is generally referred to as William Gilbert, he also went under the name of William Gilberd. The latter was used in both his and his father's epitaphs, in the records of the town of Colchester, in the Biographical Memoir that appears in De Magnete, and in the name of The Gilberd School in Colchester.
A unit of magnetomotive force, also known as magnetic potential, was named the Gilbert in his honour.
Gilbert was born in Colchester to Jerome Gilberd, a borough recorder. He was educated at St John's College, Cambridge. After gaining his MD from Cambridge in 1569, and a short spell as bursar of St John's College, he left to practice medicine in London and travelled on the continent. In 1573, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians. In 1600 he was elected President of the College. From 1601 until her death in 1603, he was Elizabeth I's own physician, and James VI and I renewed his appointment.
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