The compasscompass appeared in Europe about AD 1150. The first European work devoted to the magnetismmagnetism of the lodestonelodestone, the “Letter on the Magnet,” was published by the Frenchman Pierre de MaricourtPierre de Maricourt (born c. 1220) in 1269. He wrote, “…this stone bears in itself the likeness of the heavens.” However, the most important treatise on magnetismmagnetism in this period was the “De Magnete” (1600) by William GilbertGilbert, William (1544–1603), a physician at the court of Queen Elizabeth IElizabeth I (1533–1603). A significant work in the history of the sciences, it is also the first treatise on electricityelectricity. GilbertGilbert, William’s use of the experimental method and his critical attitude toward the classics were very innovative. The most baffling aspect of magnetism is how one object acts on another without a material link between them. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the idea of action at a distanceaction at a distance gained increasing acceptance, culminating with the gravitational theory formulated by Isaac NewtonNewton, Isaac (1642–1727). NewtonNewton, Isaac considered that the Moon was attracted by the Earth in the same way that our planet acts on any other objectMoon. Its motion deviated from a straight line, due to “falling” to the Earth.