earth

In early times European navigators believed that compass needles were attracted either to a “magnetic mountain” or “magnetic island” somewhere in the far north, or to the Pole Star.
The idea that the Earth acts as a giant magnet was first proposed in 1600 by Sir William Gilbert, a courtier of Queen Elizabeth I.
He was also the first to define the North Magnetic Pole as the point where the Earth’s magnetic field points vertically downwards.