The Resume

(May 24, 1544-November 30, 1603)
Born in Colchester, England, United Kingdom
Last name also spelled 'Gilberd'
Physicist, physician, and natural philosopher
Royal physician (1600-03)
Wrote 'De Magnete' ('On the Magnet,' 1600)

Why he might be annoying:

He incorrectly argued that magnetism and electricity were separate forces.
He believed the light spots on the moon were water, the dark spots land.
He argued that magnetism held the Moon in orbit around Earth. (To be fair, (1) it would be another 87 years until Newton discovered gravity; and (2) as a theory, it sounds less goofy than Aristotle's idea that the heavenly bodies are made of a special element that naturally moves in circles.)

Why he might not be annoying:

He correctly determined that the Earth itself is magnetic, which is why a compass needle points north. (Previous theories included that the compass is attracted to Polaris (the north star) or that a giant mountain of iron happened to be located at the North Pole.)
He correctly surmised that the Earth's core contains iron.
He coined the adjective 'electric' while studying static electricity in amber ('elektron' in Greek).
As late as the mid-19th century, physicist William Whewell wrote about 'De Magnete,' 'His work contains all the fundamental facts of the science, so fully examined, indeed, that even at this day we have little to add to them.'
The unit of magnetomotive force (or magnetic potential) was named the gilbert in his honor.

Credit: C. Fishel

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• C. Fishel's Profiles [Series 82]
• I Attended Cambridge
• I Earned a Doctorate
• I Have Plague
• Look at Me, I'm Wearing a Ruffled Collar
• Look at Me, My Picture Is Art
• My Name Became a Unit of Measurement
• Physicians Turned Authors
• Profiles 51501-51750 (Ranked: 51644)
• Renaissance Men (and Women)
• Renaissance Scientists
• Scientists

Year In Review:

In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 9 Votes: 77.78% Annoying