14 
SUPPLEMENT. 
netic needle was made about the year 1576, by Robert Norman, 
a compass-maker, residing in Wapping, who, in 1580, published 
a pamphlet, entitled, “ The newe Attractive, showing the Nature, 
Propertie, and manifold Vertues of the Loadstone, with the De¬ 
clination of the Needle therewith under the Plaine of the Hori¬ 
zon. Found out and discovered by Robert Norman. 5 ’ The sole 
credit of the discovery was awarded to him by Dr. Gilbert and 
Mr. William Burrows, cotemporary writers on the subject of 
magnetism. u The newe Attractive 75 was dedicated to Mr. Bur¬ 
rows, and Dr. Gilbert speaks of the author, in the following 
terms;—“ This is that Robert Norman, that skilful seaman and 
ingenious artificer, who first found the inclination of the magnetic 
needle.” 
Norman thus describes “ by what means the rare and strange 
declining of the needle from the plane of the horizon was first 
found.” 
c< Having made many and divers compasses, and using always 
to finish and end them before I touched the needle, I found con¬ 
tinually, that, after I had touched the iron with the stone, that 
presently the north point thereof would bend or decline down¬ 
wards under the horizon in some quantity, in so much that to the 
fly of the compass, which before was made equal, 1 was still con¬ 
strained to put some small piece of wire on the south part there¬ 
of, to counterpoise this declining, and to make it equal again.” 
“ Which effect having many times passed my hands, without 
any great regard thereunto, as ignorant of any such property in 
the stone, and not before having heard nor read of any such 
matter; it chanced at length that there came to my hands, an 
instrument to be made with a needle of six inches long, which 
needle after I had polished, cut of a just length, and made to 
stand level upon the pin, so that nothing rested but only the 
touching of it with the stone; when I had touched the same, pre¬ 
sently the north part thereof declined down, in such sort, that 
being constrained to cut away some of that part to make it equal 
again, in the end I cut it too short, and so spoiled the needle, 
whereon I had taken so much pains. Hereby being struck into 
some choler, I applied myself to seek further into this effect, and 
