Petrus Peregrinus de Maricourt
French scholar
Years: 1220 - 1280
Pierre Pelerin de Maricourt (French), Petrus Peregrinus de Maricourt (Latin) or Peter Peregrinus of Maricourt; (fl.
1269) is a 13th-century French scholar who conducts experiments on magnetism and writes the first extant treatise describing the properties of magnets.
His work is particularly noted for containing the earliest detailed discussion of freely pivoting compass needles, a fundamental component of the dry compass soon to appear in medieval navigation.
He also writes a treatise on the construction and use of a universal astrolabe.
