William Gilbert, also known as Gilberd (Colchester, England, May 24, 1544 - London, England, November 30, 1603) was an English physician and a natural philosopher. He was an early Copernican, and passionately rejected both the prevailing Aristotelian philosophy and the Scholastic method of university teaching. After gaining his MD from Cambridge in 1569, and a short spell as bursar of St John's College, Cambridge, … Wikipedia
The definitive Wikipedia entry for William Gilbert. Wikipedia is the biggest multilingual free-content encyclopedia on the Internet. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Gilbert
This web site tells the story of Gilbert and his book--with glimpses of London in 1600, and with studies of magnetism before Gilbert. www-spof.gsfc.nasa.gov/earthmag/demagint.htm