Some early contributions to the history of geomagnetism: I

Abstract

The writing of a detailed and comprehensive history of geomagnetism would present many difficulties, because the beginnings are almost hopelessly obscured by myths and legends and many important points are still subjects of uncertainty and controversy. Some light has been thrown on mooted questions by scholars in recent times, but much still remains to be clarified regarding the discovery of the directive power of the Earth's field and its practical application.1There are, however, a number of documents which may be regarded as milestones in the development of geomagnetic knowledge and whose importance from a historical viewpoint is undisputed. Unfortunately, all these early writings have become extremely rare and the few extant copies are preserved in widely distributed libraries. In order to make them more generally available, G. Hellmann was led to reproduce, partly in facsimile, some of the more important contributions in his “Rara Magnetica” [Neudrucke von Schriften und Karten über Metorologie und Erdmagnetismus, No. 10, Berlin, Asher und Co. (1898)].