John Michell studies magnetism and discovers the…
1750 CE
His 1750 paper Treatise of Artificial Magnets, which is written for seamen and instrument makers and intended as a practical manual on how to make magnets, includes a list of the "Properties of Magnetical Bodies" that represent a major contribution to the understanding of magnetism.
In a work of some eighty pages, he presents an easy and expeditious method of producing magnets that are superior to the best natural magnets.
Besides the description of the method of magnetization which still bears his name, this work contains a variety of accurate observations about magnetism, and features a lucid exposition of the nature of magnetic induction.
John Michell was born in 1724 in Eakring, in Nottinghamshire, the son of Gilbert Michell, a priest, and Obedience Gerrard. Gilbert was the son of William Michell and Mary Taylor of Kenwyn, Cornwall; Obedience was the daughter of Ralph and Hannah Gerrard of London.
He is educated at Queens' College, Cambridge, and will become a Fellow of Queens.