William Gilbert, also known as Gilberd, was an English physician, physicist and natural philosopher. He passionately rejected both the prevailing Aristotelian philosophy and the Scholastic method of university teaching. He is remembered today largely for his book De Magnete (1600). June 3, 1544 – November 30, 1603; died at 59. Alive at the same time as William Shakespeare, Michelangelo, Francis Bacon, Elizabeth I of England, and Jacques Cartier. Wiki link