Gauss' and Weber's "Atlas of Geomagnetism" (1840) PDF

Handbook of Geomathematics
DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-27793-1_94-1
© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014
Gauss’ and Weber’s “Atlas of Geomagnetism” (1840) Was not the

first: the History of the Geomagnetic Atlases
Karin Reicha and Elena Roussanovab
a
Department of Mathematics, University of Hamburg, Germany
b
Saxonian Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Leipzig, Germany
Abstract
In the beginning there were geomagnetic charts which were interesting mainly for seafar-
ing nations. The first geomagnetic atlas was printed in London in 1776; its author was the
mathematician, cartographer, and astronomer Samuel Dunn, whose aim had been to ameliorate the
navigation especially to support the trading of England with the East Indies. The American John
Churchman, however, was mainly surveyor; his magnetic atlas was published in four editions,
in 1790, 1794, 1800, and 1804. Churchman was in contact with George Washington and with
Thomas Jefferson, as far as his geomagnetic charts were concerned; he also became a member of
the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg. Churchman was convinced that the magnetic pole in
the north could be found in northern Canada. The Norwegian astronomer and physicist Christopher
Hansteen was convinced that there were two magnetic poles in the north and two in the south; his
atlas was published in 1819. One of the magnetic poles in the north should be in Siberia. Hansteen
found support by the king of Sweden and Norway so that he undertook an expedition to Siberia
(1828–1830). Carl Friedrich Gauss and Wilhelm Weber began to study geomagnetism in 1831:
They believed that there were only two magnetic poles, one in the north and one in the south. They
were able to calculate their positions by means of Gauss’ new theory of geomagnetism (1839); as
sailors found out, their coordinates turned out to be nearly correct. Gauss’ and Weber’s Atlas is
without doubt the most famous; it was published in Leipzig in 1840, including 18 geomagnetic
charts. On two of these charts, equipotential lines were presented for the first time in history.
1 Introduction
It was Gerhard Mercator (1512–1594) who made the word “atlas” common use. His posthumously
published work “Atlas sive Cosmographicae Meditationes de Fabrica Mundi et Fabricati Figura”
(Mercator 1595) paved the way for it to become a part of our everyday language. His atlas
contained maps of both the earth and the sky. Since this time, the word “atlas” has been understood
as a collection of terrestrial and celestial maps.
Declination (deviation of the compass needle) has always been particularly important for
seafarers. One of the earliest maps to show declination lines, the famous “Tabula nautica,” was

E-mail: reich@math.uni-hamburg.de

E-mail: elena.roussanova@medizin.uni-leipzig.de
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drawn by Edmond Halley (1656–1742) and published in 1701. This map was based on a special
form of projection known as Mercator projection, first introduced by Mercator in 1569 in his map
of the world “Nova et aucta orbis terrae descriptio ad usum navigantium emendate accommodata.”
As the title of Mercator’s world map indicated, this kind of projection was extremely important to
seafarers, as it was conformal.
It quickly also became clear that magnetic declination is not constant but subject to continual
change. As early as the eighteenth century, numerous maps were published which were updated
versions of the “Tabula nautica,” for example, by James Dodson (ca.1705–1757), William
Mountaine (ca.1700–1779), Johann Gustaf Zegollström (1724–1787), etc. Moreover, both world
maps and regional maps were published in which declination lines were only marked in certain
areas.
Inclination also played a role in geomagnetic research. In the eighteenth century, maps were
therefore also published with the inclination marked in lines. Intensity maps came into being in the
nineteenth century; one of the first ones was published by Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859)
in 1804 (Hellmann 1895).
The very existence of maps with geomagnetic lines suggested the idea of publishing an atlas
containing maps of the world and special maps with declination lines, inclination lines, etc. The
“Atlas of Geomagnetism” presented by Carl Friedrich Gauss and Wilhelm Weber in 1840 is without
a doubt the most well-known and famous; the maps published in it were exceptionally important.
However, mention should also be made of its predecessors, which could hardly have been more
different: the atlas published in 1776 by the Englishman Samuel Dunn, which contained 9 maps;
the atlas by the American geodesist John Churchman, which contained one or two maps, four
editions of which appeared by 1804; and finally the historical atlas published by the Norwegian
physicist and astronomer Christopher Hansteen in 1819, which contained 15 maps.
However, the aims of the authors varied just as much as the atlases themselves. These will be
explained later.
2 Samuel Dunn (1723–1794)

2.1 Biographical Notes
Apparently for a long time, there was only one biography of Samuel Dunn in existence, which
however is based on later descriptions, i.e., those published in the “Dictionary of National
Biography” (Godwin 1888). Recently a revised and enlarged biography was published in the
Internet (Heard 2013). According to these sources, Dunn was born in 1723 in Crediton in
Devonshire, where his father died in 1744. Dunn initially earned his living by directing a school,
where he also taught “writing, accounts, navigation, and other mathematical science.” He then
moved to the school in Bowdown Hill, where he taught until Christmas 1751. Finally Dunn moved
to London, where he taught at various schools and also gave private tuition. In 1757, he invented
the “universal planisphere, or terrestrial and celestial globes in plano.” In the year 1758 Dunn
became “master of an academy, for boarding and qualifying young gentlemen in arts, sciences,
and languages, and for business at Chelsea.” Dunn was able to use the Ormond Observatory for
astronomical observations and saw a comet there in 1760.1 Dunn informed the Royal Society of
1
Comet 1759 III [sic], Great Comet, visible from January 7, 1760, to February 11, 1760.
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his astronomical observations. In 1763, he stopped working as a schoolteacher in Chelsea and

moved to Brompton Park near Kensington, where he gave private tuition. In 1764, he went on a
journey to France. In 1769 the Astronomer Royal Nevil Maskelyne (1732–1811) invited him, to
observe the transit of Venus. When Dunn published his “New Atlas of the Mundane System; or
of Geography and Cosmography” in 1774, he lived at 6 Clement’s Inn, close to Temple Bar. His
scientific reputation was by now so great that he was appointed “mathematical examiner of the
candidates for the East India Company Service.” This position enabled him to publish more of
his work; in 1777 he lived at Covent Garden and in 1780 at 1 Boar’s Head Court, Fleet Street.
He died in January 1794; his will was dated January 5, 1794; he was buried on January 23 at
St. Dunstan-in-the-West.
Dunn published nine treatises in the “Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society” in
London along with numerous astronomical monographs, particularly in the field of practical
astronomy; other publications included works and maps (atlases) for seafaring and navigation.
2.2 Dunn’s Geomagnetic Maps

In the year 1774 Dunn published in London for the first time his work: “A New Atlas of the
Mundane System, or of Geography and Cosmography: Describing the Heavens and the Earth, the
Distances, Motions, and Magnitudes, of the Celestial Bodies; The Various Empires, Kingdoms,
States, and Republics, Throughout the Known World: With a Particular Description of the Latest
Discoveries; The Whole Elegantly Engraved On Sixty-Two Copper Plates; To These Is Prefixed a
General Introduction to Geography and Cosmography, in Which the Elements of These Sciences
Are Compendiously Deduced from Original Principles, and Traced from Their Invention to the
Latest Improvements. With a general introduction.”
This atlas was a great success; the sixth edition was published in 1810, by which time the
number of copper plates had grown to 64 (Dunn 1810). Despite being primarily geographical,
geomagnetism also played a role. The work contains a chapter titled “Magnetic Needle,” which
presents Edmond Halley’s “Tabula nautica” from the year 1701 right at the beginning. Dunn then
distinguished between three different types of declination lines:
§ 206 Lines of Variation, which are usually delineated on the chart, may be considered as one
or the other of these three kinds, namely
1st Lines of Equal Variation, which run nearly Eastward and Westward on the chart.
2dly Crooked or Worm Lines, which run nearly northward and southward on the chart.
3dly Parabolic Lines, which do somewhat resemble the path which a body describes when it
is thrown otherwise than perpendicular to the horizon.
According to their usefulness Dunn mentioned:
§ 207 “The first kind of lines [: : :] can [: : :] be but of little use to mariners.”
§ 208 “The second kind [: : :] are of excellent use.”
§ 209 “The third kind: parabolic lines, are useful in the same manner as the worm lines before
described” (Dunn 1810, p. 13).
Dunn’s “A New Atlas” contains a plate “Cosmography Epitomised” with pictures of a compass,
the worm lines, and the parabolic lines on the variation chart (right column) (Fig. 1).
His work “The Navigator’s Guide to the Oriental or Indian Seas: Or, the Description and Use of
a Variation Chart of the Magnetic Needle, Designed for Shewing the Longitude, Throughout the
Principal Parts of the Atlantic, Ethiopic, and Southern Oceans, Within a Degree, or Sixty Miles.
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Fig. 1 Dunn, Samuel: A new Atlas of the Mundane system. 6 Ed. with additions and considerable improvements
(London 1810): cosmography epitomised, in six copperplate delineations. Chart after page 22, right column. State
Library Berlin, shelf mark 2ı Kart. B 902
With an Introductory Discourse, Concerning the Discovery of the Magnetic Variation, the finding
the Longitude Thereby, and Several Useful Tables” was published in London the following year
(Dunn 1775). It did not contain any maps; however, two folios prepared by Dunn, i.e., variation
maps of the North and South Atlantic oceans, respectively, appeared that same year (Hellmann
1895, p. 22).
These maps were also included in Dunn’s groundbreaking book of geomagnetic maps, “A New
Atlas of Variations of the Magnetic Needle for the Atlantic, Ethiopic, Southern and Indian Oceans,
Drawn from a Theory of the Magnetic System, Discovered and Applied to Navigation” (London
1776, Fig. 2).
Even in the title, Dunn emphasized that his maps were based on a new “theory of the magnetic
system” he had evolved himself. He also utilized the astronomical and magnetic observations made
by the captains of the ships in the service of the East India Company. The atlas was intended to
make it easier for seafarers to navigate to the East Indies, as the declination lines enabled them to
establish their longitude on these oceans to the nearest degree or 60 miles.
This work was not published by a publishing company; instead, the author had it printed and
distributed via “Maiden Lane, Covent Garden.” This is probably why only a few copies found their
way into libraries.
This atlas begins with a letter “To the Honourable the Court of Directors of the United Company
of Merchants of England trading to the EAST INDIES” which dates from November 6, 1776.
Further Dunn reports:
Under whose Predecessors, near two Centuries since, the British Mathematician, Edward
Wright of London, published his Invention of the true Sea Chart, commonly called Mercator’s,
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Fig. 2 Title page of Samuel Dunn’s “A New Atlas” (London 1776). The royal library of Copenhagen, shelf mark KBK
2–852, x-2013/28 (Photography by Henrik Dupont)
changing the Angles made by the Merdidians and Rhumb-lines2 into Rectilinear ones and
thereby reducing the whole Process of Navigation, or the Art of Sailing on the Oceans, to
the Doctrine of Plane Triangles; AND WHOSE PATRONAGE HATH ENCOURAGED THE
PUBLICATION OF THIS BOOK. (Dunn 1776, p. IV)
The Edward Wright (1561–1615) already quoted here was a mathematician and geodesist; he was
one of the authors to whom Dunn felt he owed a particular debt. In 1589, Wright took part in
an expedition to the Azores; he published his findings in 1599 in his work “Certaine Errors of
Navigation,” a second edition of which was published in 1610 and a third in 1657. In this work,
Wright gave a detailed explanation of what he understood by “Mercator projection” and described
the five most important errors which were critical for establishing a ship’s exact position at sea. As
Dunn also used this type of projection, he provided a detailed description in his “Introduction”:
The first good Effect arising from this Invention of the true Sea Chart is, that in it the Rhumb-
line Bearings are straight Lines, and consequently, by Help of a straight Rule and a Pair of
Compasses, those Bearings are easily shewn by the Chart. [: : :] The second good Effect is, that
all the Cases of Sailing are solved by Proportions [: : :] Another Advantage which this Chart
has: the Course may be accurately set off on it, as also the Distance sailed, by observing a
proper Method. (Dunn 1776, pp. V–VI)
2
Rhumb line, i.e., loxodrome.
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Mercator projection is indeed conformal, which made it particularly important for navigation at
sea. The first map reproduced in Dunn’s atlas is therefore nothing other than Wright’s map; like
Wright’s, it contains no magnetic declination lines.
Dunn’s “Introduction” consists of 18 chapters. Dunn finally gets to the point in the ninth chapter:
The Variation of the Magnetic Needle, or its Horizontal Deflection from the true Meridian of
the Place of Observation, hath been considered as of the greatest Importance in Navigation, by
every Man of either Learning or Ingenuity in Mathematics, Philosophy, or Nautical Affairs,
who hath given his Opinion concerning it. Hypotheses have been formed, but none of them
have agreed with Observations, nor hat it been possible to draw the Variation-lines by them.
Dunn based his maps on a new theory which he described as follows:
By the Word Theory, I mean what indicates the Cause of the Variation at different Places and
Times, and plainly demonstrates it by Mathematical Principles and Philosophical Laws. The
drawing of accurate Variation Charts of the Magnetic Needle by a Theory must sound very
strangely to Philosophers, as nothing of this Kind hath hitherto been thought possible.
Dunn mentioned another advantage of his method (chapter 14):
Another Advantage which ariseth from the Discovery of a Theory of the Variation is, that the
Variation Charts may not only be drawn from a few Observations, but they may be drawn for
Years past and to come; from which ariseth, an easy Method of making them applicable for
the intermediate Years, with Errors which are very inconsiderable.
Ultimately Dunn came to the conclusion (chapter 17):
Charts properly constructed to lesser and greater Scales, after Wright’s Manner, will be of
Use to Navigators, in indicating the course to be sailed from one Place to another, whether
Distances be great or small. Variation Charts of the Magnetic Needle, accurately and properly
drawn, will be of Use in allowing for the Variation. Both of these being applied at Sea, will
enable the Navigator to pursue his Voyage in cloudy Weather, or when no Astronomical
Observations can be made, with that Certainty which otherwise he cannot expect. It is the
Plan and Design of this Work to institute such, but to complete it will require some Time and
Judgement. (Dunn 1776, p. VI)
The introduction is followed by 9 maps measuring about 50 60 cm each:
1. A Wright’s Chart of the Atlantic Ethiopic and Indian Oceans (November 6, 1776) (Fig. 3).
2. Variation Chart of the Atlantic Ethiopic and Indian Oceans for the year 1770, delineated
according to Mercator’s or Wright’s projections agreeable with the latest and best observations
by S. Dunn (November 6, 1776).
3. A Variation Chart of the Atlantic Ethiopic and Indian Oceans for the year 1800 (November 6,
1776).
4. A Variation Chart of the Atlantic Ocean for the year 1776 (November 6, 1776).
5. A Variation Chart of the Atlantic Ethiopic and Indian Oceans for the year 1776 (November 6,
1776).
6. Continuation of plate (5). This chart is designed for determining the longitude in those seas
within a degree or 60 miles (November 10, 1775).
7. A Variation Chart of the Indian Ocean for South of the Line for 1776 (November 6, 1776)
(Fig. 4).
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Fig. 3 Chart 2: Variation chart of the Atlantic Ethiopic and Indian Oceans for the year 1770 delineated according to
Mercator’s or Wright’s projections agreeable with the latest and best observations by S. Dunn (November 6, 1776).
The royal library of Copenhagen, shelf mark KBK 2–852, x-2013/28. N.B. This is the first variation chart of those seas
that has ever been drawn by a theory and found to agree nearly with observations (Photography by Henrik Dupont)
8. Continuation of plate (7). The lines in the west part of this chart are designed for determining
the longitude (November 6, 1776).
9. India with the magnetic variations for 1776 (November 6, 1776).
Hellman’s comment on this work “A New Atlas” was: “This rare atlas contains seven [sic]
large-scale declination maps of superb technical execution; magnetic maps on a larger scale have
possibly never been published before” (Hellmann 1895, p. 22).3
Similar maps on a much smaller scale are found in Dunn’s work “A new epitome of practical
navigation; or guide to the Indian Seas,” published in London in 1777 (Dunn 1777):
Plate 12: A miniature variation chart of the Atlantic Ocean for the years from 1770 to 1820
Plate 13: A miniature variation chart of the Ethiopic Ocean for the years 1770 to 1820
Plate 14: A miniature variation chart of the Indian Ocean for the years from 1770 to 1820
3
In the original German: “Dieser seltene Atlas enthält sieben Deklinationskarten grossen Maassstabes in vorzüglicher technischer
Ausführung; vielleicht sind magnetische Karten in grösserem Maassstabe niemals publicirt worden” (Hellmann 1895, p. 22).
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Fig. 4 Chart 7: A variation chart of the Indian Ocean for South of the line for 1776 (November 6, 1776). The royal
library of Copenhagen, shelf mark KBK 2–852, x-2013/28 (Photography by Henrik Dupont)
3 John Churchman (1753–1805)

Unless otherwise mentioned, the following description is based on Silvio Bedini’s two-part article
(Bedini 2000).
Churchman came from a Quaker family which settled in Nottingham, Maryland, in 1704. Three
generations of this family were surveyors: born in 1753, John was John III of his family and the
most famous of its surveyors. John III, from now on referred to merely as John, learnt surveying
from his father George (1730–1814). John published numerous maps, including a map of the
peninsula between Delaware and Chesapeake; these in particular helped to make him famous.
In 1779, John presented a “memorial” to the “American Philosophical Society” (only founded in
1743) with a request to have his map published. This petition was granted, and two editions of the
map were published in the years 1786 and 1787 with the following inscription “To the American
Philosophical Society this Map of the Peninsula between Delaware and Chesopeak Bays with said
Bays and Shored adjacent drawn from the most Accurate Survey is humbly inscribed by John
Churchman.”
This map was reprinted several times by US Geological Survey with the title “Delaware at the
Time of the Ratification of the Constitution.”
Besides working as a surveyor, John also ran numerous businesses, particularly with land, i.e.,
he bought land in grand style and saw that it was resold.
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John Churchman occupied himself with geomagnetism from the late 1770s on. He developed
a magnetic needle theory which aimed to improve the accuracy with which longitude could be
established at sea. This was mainly to be facilitated by new maps marked with declination lines. In
1777, an early exposition of his geomagnetic theory appeared in the Philadelphia Press. Here he
assumed that there were two satellites, moons, orbiting the earth, one around the North Pole and
the other around the South Pole.
In 1785, he made a perpetuum mobile which was driven by magnetic forces. In 1787, he
presented a new theory of magnetic needle declination to the “American Philosophical Society.”
However, this theory was not supported by the respective scholars; David Rittenhouse (1732–1796)
was one of those who rejected it.4
However, Churchman was not discouraged; instead, he sent letters aiming to obtain the support
of prominent personages and scientists. This strategy was successful. He published some of the
replies he received himself (Churchman (1790), Appendix, pp. 1–5 as well as Churchman (1794),
p. 65–76); others were reproduced in exchanges of letters which have only recently been published.
April 10, 1787, is the date of Churchman’s first letter to Joseph Banks (1743–1820), who became
President of the Royal Society in 1788 and held this office until 1820. We know of seven letters
exchanged by Churchman and Banks (Banks 2007):
– Churchman to Banks, April 10, 1787, Philadelphia (letter no. 723)

– Banks to Churchman, September 1, 1787, Soho Square (letter no. 768)
– Churchman to Banks, including a “Memorial To the Honourable Commissioners of Longitude
for the Nation of England,” September 29, 1787, Philadelphia (letter no. 776)
– Banks to Churchman, without date, Soho Square (letter no. 777)
– Churchman to Banks, May 8, 1788, Philadelphia (letter no. 840)
– Churchman to Banks, January 7, 1792, Philadelphia (letter no. 1086)
– Churchman to Banks, March 8, 1804, Boston (letter no. 1767)
Banks’ response was very positive; he invited Churchman to visit England. Churchman accepted
this invitation and stayed in London from 1792 to 1796.
In 1787, Churchman also contacted his compatriot Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), whom he
initially addressed as “Dear Friend,” “Esteemed Friend,” and later as “My Honourable Friend.”
Jefferson was stationed in Paris as a diplomat from 1785 to 1789; in 1802, he was elected the third
President of the USA, an office which he held until 1809. Ten letters are known to have passed
between Churchman and Jefferson between 1787 and 1802 (Jefferson 1950–2013):
– Churchman to Jefferson, June 6, 1787, with an enclosure from April 10, 1787, Philadelphia
(vol. 11, pp. 397–399)
– Jefferson to Churchman, August 8, 1787, Paris (vol. 12, pp. 5–6)
– Churchman to Jefferson, November 22, 1787, Philadelphia (vol. 11, pp. 374–375)
– Churchman to Jefferson, May 15, 1789, Philadelphia (vol. 15, pp. 129–130)
– Jefferson to Churchman, September 18, 1789, Paris (vol. 15, pp. 439–440)
– Jefferson to Churchman, [November 24, 1790] (vol. 18, p. 68)
– Churchman to Jefferson, January 13, 1791, South 2nd Street No.183 (vol. 18, pp. 492–493)
4
David Rittenhouse became a member of the “American Philosophical Society” in 1768; he was its president from 1791 to 1796. He was
also an astronomer at the University of the State of Pennsylvania, from where the College of Philadelphia was founded in 1791.
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– Churchman to Jefferson, April 2, 1792, No.183 South 2nd Street (vol. 23, pp. 363–364)
– Jefferson to Churchman, April 4, 1792, Philadelphia (vol. 23, pp. 369–370)
– Churchman to Jefferson, May 7, 1802, Boston (vol. 37, pp. 424–426)
3.2 The Magnetic Atlas (Philadelphia 1790)

Churchman first published his work “An Explanation of the Magnetic Atlas, or Variation Chart,
Hereunto Annexed Projected on a Plan Entirely New, by Which the Magnetic Variation on any Part
of the Globe May Be Precisely Determined” in Philadelphia in 1790. This work was accompanied
by a magnificent large map with the inscription “George Washington, President of the United States
this magnetic Atlas or variation Chart Is humbly inscribed by John Churchman” (Fig. 5). This map,
which showed only the northern hemisphere, had a diameter of 60.5 cm and consisted of 12 strips
which were probably meant to be affixed to a globe; the diameter of the globe would probably have
been about 39 cm. According to the great magnetic map expert Gustav Hellmann, this was the first
map with declination lines ever published in America (Hellmann 1895, p. 22). Churchman had
already contacted Washington 1 year previously, in 1789; George Washington (1732–1799) was
the first President of the newly founded USA from 1789 to 1797. In all, 8 letters from the period
between 1789 and 1792 have survived; however, rather than answering himself, Washington left
his secretary Tobias Lear (1762–1816) to write his replies (Washington 1983–2011):
– Churchman to Washington, May 7, 1789, New York, Water Street No.66 (vol. 2, pp. 225–227)
– Churchman to Washington, August 9, 1790, Philadelphia (vol. 6, p. 222)
– Lear to Churchman, August 28, 1790 (vol. 6, p. 222)
– Churchman to Lear, September 8, 1791, Philadelphia (vol. 8, pp. 512–514)
– Lear to Churchman, September 10, 1791, Philadelphia (vol. 8, pp. 512–514)
– Churchman to Washington, December 29, 1791 (vol. 9, pp. 342–344)
– Churchman an Washington, July 14, 1792, Bank Street Baltimore (vol. 10, p. 540)
– Churchman an Washington, September 5, 1792, Baltimore (vol. 11, pp. 71–74)
At that time, a map with declination lines, i.e., with geomagnetic data, was so important that it was
presented to the President of the USA as a gift, which was accepted with all due consequence.
On August 9, 1790, Churchman wrote to Washington from Philadelphia, enclosing his recent
publication as a token of his best respects for the president:
Being convinced that no name would be likely to stamp so great a value on the work as that
of the personage to whom it was dedicated, he hopes to be pardoned for the Liberty which he
has taken in this respect.
Secretary Lear responded on Washington’s behalf:
The President of the United States has received a Copy of the Magnetic Atlas or Variation
Chart, together with the book of explanation which you have been so polite as to send him
and requests your acceptance of this thanks for the same. “I am, moreover, ordered by the
President to inform you, that being ever desirous of encouraging such publications as tend to
promote useful knowledge, he requests you will consider him as a subscriber of your work.”
(Washington (1983–2011) vol. 6, p. 222, also in Churchman (1794), pp 71–72)
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Fig. 5 Dedication: “George Washington, President of the United States of America. This magnetic Atlas or variation
chart is humbly inscribed by John Churchman” (Philadelphia 1790). State library Berlin, shelf mark W 780
On this map (Fig. 5), the declination lines are drawn in quite thickly on the oceans but only at large
intervals on the continents; none of the declination lines are specially marked, nor is the zero line.
There is one and only one magnetic point close to Baffin Bay, at a latitude of about 76ı and a
longitude about 78ı west of Greenwich.
In his letter to George Washington dated December 29, 1791, Churchman outlined the following
plan: he wanted to organize an expedition to Baffin Bay to find the magnetic North Pole which was
presumably located there (Washington 1983–2011, vol. 9, pp. 342–344). However, Washington did
not respond to this proposal.
In his document “Explanation of the Magnetic Atlas,” Churchman quoted his predecessors,
including Dunn, but only his “A New Atlas of the Mundane System” in the edition of 1788. More-
over, Churchman gave a particularly detailed explanation of the geomagnetic theory published by
Leonhard Euler (1707–1783); Euler was the first scientist to produce a map with declination lines
projected stereographically (Reich and Roussanova 2012, pp. 147–148).
Churchman apparently had sent his essay “Explanation of the Magnetic Atlas” also to the
Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg. At that time, Johann Albrecht Euler (1734–1800), oldest
son of the mathematician Leonhard Euler, held the post of Permanent Secretary. Like his father,
Johann Albrecht was particularly interested in geomagnetism. On January 31, 1791, the minutes
of the meetings held at the Academy in St. Petersburg recorded the following:
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Monsieur le Conseiller de Collèges Roumovsky5 remit un extrait en langue russe que

Monsieur l’Adjoint Konoff6 a fait d’un imprimé anglois de Monsieur Churchman: An
Explanation of the Magnetic Atlas or variation chart etc. by John Churchman Philadelphia
1790; que Son Altesse Madame la Princesse de Daschkow7 avoit reçu pendant les dernières
vacances, et envoyé à Messieurs les Adadémiciens, pour qu’ils l’examinent et en disent leur
sentiment. Monsieur Churchman donne dans cet imprimé une méthode aisée de déterminer
par le moyen de quelques tables et d’une sphère la déclinaison de l’aiguille magnétique pour
un lieu proposé quelconque et à chaque temps donné: il s’agissoit donc d’examiner si cet
imprimé répond pleinement à la question physico-mathématique que Madame la Princesse
avoit choisie pour le prix académique de 17938 et s’il n’en rend pas la publication superflue.
Messieurs les Académiciens chargés de cet examen rapportèrent donc en conformité de cet
ordre, qu’ayant trouvé que les temps périodiques des deux points magnétiques de la Terre,
sur lesquels Monsieur Churchman a dressé ses tables et sa carte magnétique, ne sont fondés
que sur des observations faites en deux temps, années 1657 et 1790, et qu’ils en ont été même
déterminés par un calcul très sujet à caution, ils sont tous d’avis que l’imprimé de Monsieur
Churchman ne doit pas empêcher l’Acadmémie de proposer la question telle qu’elle a été
donnée par Monsieur l’Academicien Krafft.9 Le Secrétaire10 fut en conséquence chargé d’en
dresser le programme et de le soumettre à l’approbation de la Conférence pour être imprimé
et publié. (Procès-verbaux 1911, pp. 251–252)
Churchman received information about this meeting; Yekaterina Dashkova notified him on
February 27/March 11, 1791:
The Contents of your letter, which we received with the enclosed Magnetic Atlas, and its
explanation, in due time, were the more interesting and agreeable to the Imperial Academy of
Sciences, at the same matter is the subject of a Premium even now proposed by our Academy,
as you will see by the printed advertisement I send you herewith. The progress you have
already made gives me a pleasant hope, this important matter will derive no small increase
from your ingenious works; and I make no doubt but your labours will greatly contribute
to the final solution of this question. By the communication of your further enquiries and
discoveries, especially relating to the southern hemisphere, the calculation of an universal
set of tables, and the ascertaining of the exact revolutions of the two magnetic points round
the poles of the earth, by a greater number of observations, you will very much oblige your
humble servant, princess of Daschkaw. (Churchman 1794, p. 74)
5
Stepan Jakovlevich Rumovskij (1734–1812), astronomer; in 1753 he became assistant at the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg;
during the years 1754 to 1756 he was guest scholar of Leonhard Euler in Berlin; in 1756 he succeeded Michail Lomonosov as director
of the Geographical Department at the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg; in 1763 he became extraordinary and in 1767 ordinary
professor at the Academy; during the years 1800–1803, he acted as its vice-president.
6
His correct name his Kononov and not Konoff. Aleksej Kononovich Kononov (1766–1795), physicist; since 1789 he was assistant and
since 1795 extraordinary professor at the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg.
7
The princess Yekaterina Romanovna Dashkova (1743–1810) was directress of the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg from 1783 to
1796.
8
The Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg had posed the following prize question for the year 1793: to present a magnetic chart of the
world for the beginning of the nineteenth century, where the magnetic poles were indicated. This chart should be similar to the “Tabula
nautica,” published by Edmond Halley in 1701 (Procès-verbaux 1911, pp 256–258). The original text was published in Latin and in Russian;
a German translation in Reich and Roussanova (2012), p. 142.
9
Wolfgang Ludwig Krafft (1743–1814), physicist at the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg.
10
Johann Albrecht Euler.
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However, Churchman did not receive the prize awarded in 1793; instead, it went to the
Copenhagen-based physicist Christian Gottlieb Kratzenstein (1723–1795).
The most important scientific institution in Philadelphia was that later known as the “American
Philosophical Society,” cofounded by Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) in 1743. It should be
mentioned that Yekaterina Dashkova and Benjamin Franklin met in Paris on February 3, 1781.
In consequence, Dashkova became the first female and first Russian member of the “American
Philosophical Society,” while Franklin was the first American to become a member of the Academy
of Sciences in St. Petersburg. Franklin and Dashkova maintained a constant correspondence, which
was one of the highlights presented at the exhibition “The Princess and the Patriot: Ekaterina
Dashkova, Benjamin Franklin, and the Age of Enlightenment” in Philadelphia in 2006 (Prince
2006).
After his magnetic atlas, Churchman wanted to publish a book about gravity. He sent an
exposition, a prospectus, to St. Petersburg:
Son Altesse Madame la Princesse de Daschkow envoya pour être présenté de la part
de Monsieur Churchman, auteur de l’Atlas magnétique, une fueille imprimée en anglois
contenant Proposals for publishing a Dissertation on Gravitation containing conjectures
concerning the case of the several kinds of attraction. Le Secrétaire fera circuler ce prospectus
parmi Messieurs les Académiciens et Adjoints. (Procès-verbaux 1911, p. 286, January 16,
1792)
However, this work was never published.
3.3 The Magnetic Atlas (2. Edition, London 1794)

While Churchman was staying in England between 1792 and 1796, a second edition of his
“Magnetic Atlas” appeared in London in 1794. This second edition contained two geomagnetic
maps, one of the northern hemisphere (Fig. 6) and the other of the southern hemisphere (Fig. 7).
Both maps are dated July 1, 1794, measure approx. 59.5 cm in diameter, and – like the map
published in 1790 – consisted of 12 strips which would have covered a complete globe. It must be
noted that the map portraying the northern hemisphere (Fig. 6) is not identical with the map drawn
for George Washington in 1790 (Fig. 5).
The map of the northern hemisphere indicates a “magnetic pole” located in Northern Canada;
a circle has been drawn around it on which the magnetic point and the magnetic nadir have been
marked. The migration of the magnetic North Pole is also marked, i.e., its position in 1600, 1650,
1700, 1750, 1800, 1850, and 1900. The “first magnetic meridian for 1700” and the “first magnetic
meridian for 1794” both pass through West Africa. A circle called the “magnetic orbit” was again
drawn around the magnetic North Pole, and the magnetic point and magnetic nadir were marked
on it.
With regard to the southern hemisphere, the magnetic South Pole is located south of West
Australia between 100ı and 110ı east of Greenwich; as in the map of the northern hemisphere,
a magnetic orbit is drawn and a magnetic point and magnetic nadir marked. Close to the magnetic
point, there is a text stating “This Magnetic Point is fixed by more authentic observations on the
Chart than in page 40 & 41.”
Churchman sent copies of the second edition of his “Magnetic Atlas” to President Washington
and his friend Jefferson. Jefferson gave his volume to the “American Philosophical Society” as
a gift (Washington (1983–2011), vol. 2, p. 222 and Jefferson (1950–2013), vol. 37, p. 425). Yet
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Fig. 6 John Churchman: The magnetic Atlas, or variation charts, 2. edition (London 1794): Northern Hemisphere.
State library Berlin, shelf mark 4ı My 3506
another copy of the second edition went to the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg, whereupon
he was elected an honorary member of the Academy in 1795, winning 7:4 of the votes. It seems he
was the second American after Benjamin Franklin to be honored in this way. The minutes record:
Monsieur le Directeur en fonction et gentil-homme de la Chambre de S. M. J. Paul
de Bacounin,11 fit communiquer une lettre angloise adressée à Madame la Princesse de
Daschkow par Monsieur Churchman et datée de Londre le 21 octobre, laquelle Son Altesse lui
a envoyée de Moscou pour la faire lire à la Conférence, et lui proposer ensuite ce physicien
américain, dont elle a déjà reçu diverses choses, pour être reçu au nombre de ces associés
externes. Monsieur Churchman rapporte avoir envoyé à l’Académie un atlas magnétique,
relativement auquel il fait quelques remarques sur la situation des pôles magnétiques du globe
terrestre; il propose ensuite d’envoyer dans la partie occidentale de l’Amérique septentrionale
un observateur pour y determiner la déclinaison et l’inclinaison de l’aiguille aimantée et
il s’offre de s’y rendre lui-même si l’adadémie trouve bon de lui bonifier les frais du
voyage; il raconte à cette occasion qu’un jeune négociant anglois a déjà fait par terre le
trajet remarquable de l’Amérique septentrionale. Enfin Madame la Princesse de Daschkow
11
Pavel Petrovich Bakunin (1776–1805), since 1794 vice-director of the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg, from 1796 to 1798 director.
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Fig. 7 John Churchman: The magnetic Atlas, or variation charts, 2. edition (London 1794): Southern Hemisphere.
State library Berlin, shelf mark 4ı My 3506
lui ayant fait présent d’un exemplaire complet des Actes académiques, il indique un comptoir
marchand à St- Pétersbourg, auquel l’Académie est priée de le remettre. La Conférence n’yant
aucune résolution à prendre ni réponse à faire aux propositions de Monsieur Churchman, elle
procéda à son élection par voie ordinaire du scrutin et Monsieur John Churchman fut reçu
au nombre des Académiciens étrangers par sept voix contre quatre. (Procès-verbaux 1911,
p. 409, January 8, 1795)
Like Benjamin Franklin, Churchman too owed his nomination as a member of the Academy of
Sciences in St. Petersburg to Yekaterina Dashkova (Prince 2006, pp. 15–16).
This second edition of Churchman’s “The Magnetic Atlas” was sent to a list of subscribers,
including the scientists Joseph Banks and William Herschel (1738–1822) in England and the
Academies in Berlin, Lisbon, Copenhagen, etc.
3.4 The Magnetic Atlas (3. Edition, New York, 1800; 4. Edition, London,
1804)
After Churchman’s return to the USA, a third edition of his “Magnetic Atlas or Variation Charts”
was published in 1800 in New York with some additions; the title page, for example, referred to the
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Fig. 8 Title page of John Churchman: The magnetic Atlas or variation charts of the whole terraqueous globe:
comprising a system of the variation and dip of the needle by which the observations being truly made, the longitude
may be ascertained. New York 1800. State and University Library Göttingen, Gauss library no. 130
author as “Fellow of the Russian Imperial Academy.” According to a letter to Banks dated February
4, 1801, Churchman sent a copy of this edition to the Royal Society (Banks 2007, vol. 5, p. 343).
He also sent a copy to his friend Jefferson, who was now the President of the USA (Jefferson
1950–2013, vol. 37, p. 425). Still another copy is located in Carl Friedrich Gauss’ private library
in Göttingen (Fig. 8):
In 1802, Churchman went to Europe again; his itinerary included both Copenhagen and
St. Petersburg. Nikolaus Fuss (1755–1826), who was married to one of Leonhard Euler’s
granddaughters, had been Permanent Secretary in St. Petersburg since 1800. The minutes of the
Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg record:
Le Secrétaire présente de la part de Mr. John Churchman, membre externe de l’Académie,
arrivé de Philadelphie: A variation chart, by John Churchman, Imperial Russian Academician.
Le Secrétaire notifia en même tems qu’il s’est fait délivrer, avec la permission de Son
Excellence Mr. le Président, six exemplaires de la carte magnétique de feu Mr. Kratzenstein,
publiée par l’Académie, afin de les remettre à ce physicien américain qui travaille depuis
dix ans au perfectionnement d’une carte pareille. (Procès-verbaux 1911, p. 1011, August 18,
1802)
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Churchman was accordingly given Kratzenstein’s map, which had been published in St. Petersburg
in 1795, as a gift.12 Churchman probably spent the winter in St. Petersburg, as the “National
Cyclopedia” reports:
He spent the winter in that high latitude perfecting his observations and corresponding with
several European philosophers, the main object with all being the discovery of the law
governing the constant variation, dip and declination of the magnetic needle in different parts
of the earth. (Anonymus 1907)
Another journey to England was the occasion for the publication of the fourth and final edition
of Churchman’s “Magnetic Atlas” in London in 1804; it included yet more additions. Churchman
died on July 17, 1805, on board the ship taking him back to the USA; he was accordingly buried
at sea.
4 Christopher Hansteen (1784–1873)

Born on September 26, 1784, in Christiania (now Oslo), Hansteen studied at Copenhagen
University, where his most important teachers were the astronomer Thomas Bugge (1740–1815)
and the physicist Hans Christian Oersted (1777–1851). In 1806, Hansteen started teaching at the
Latin School in Frederiksborg at the north of the island of Zealand in Denmark. Even then, he was
already making his first observations and compiling his first thoughts on geomagnetism. A map
with declination lines which Hansteen drew by hand and is dated April 2, 1810, still exists: “Mappa
exhibens declinationis magneticas pro anno 1730; ad Meridianum Londini secundum tabulas
Mountainiis et Dodsonis et observationes Middletonii constructa”13 (Enebakk and Johansen 2011,
between the pages 16 and 17).
In 1811, the Danish Academy of Sciences in Copenhagen posed the following prize question:
“Are we obliged to assume that magnetic phenomena can only be explained by the existence of
several magnetic axes in the earth, or is one enough?” Hansteen was awarded the prize in 1812.
In 1814, Hansteen became a lecturer at the new university in Christiania, which had only been
founded in 1811. In 1816, he was appointed Professor of Astronomy and Applied Mathematics
there and also became the director of the observatory. In 1819, he had the opportunity to take a
long journey and visited London and Paris (Enebakk and Johansen 2011).
Hansteen’s radical, monumental work “Investigations into Terrestrial Magnetism” (“Unter-
suchungen über den Magnetismus der Erde”) (Hansteen 1819, Fig. 9) was a detailed answer to
the prize question posed by the Danish Academy in 1811.
In the preface, Hansteen explained what had inspired his interest in geomagnetism: this was
a globe at the school in Frederiksborg, on which an area close to the South Pole was marked
with an ellipse; its focal points were the earth’s two magnetic South Poles, one stronger (regio
fortior), one weaker (regio debilior) (Hansteen 1819, p. VII–XII). Hansteen himself remained a
12
Christian Gottlieb Kratzenstein: “Mappa exhibens declinationes acus magneticae ad initium saeculi decimi noni pro obtinendo praemio
ab Academia Scientiarum imperiali Petropolitana ad annum 1793 proposito.” Kept at the State Library in Berlin, shelf mark 2ı Kart. W
750. This map was accompanied by Kratzenstein’s essay “Tentamen, resolvendi problema geographico-magneticum a perillustri Academia
imperiali Petropolitana in annum 1793 propositum” (St. Petersburg 1798).
13
William Mountaine (ca.1700–1779); James Dodson (ca.1705–1757); Christopher Middleton (died in 1770).
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Fig. 9 Title page of Hansteen’s “Investigations into Terrestrial Magnetism.” State and University Library Göttingen,
Gauss library no. 856
lifelong advocate of Halley’s theory that the earth had two magnetic axes, i.e., that it had four
magnetic poles, two in the north and two in the south. Hansteen’s vast work deals with the
magnetic phenomena known at that time; one lengthy chapter is devoted to Leonhard Euler’s
geomagnetic theory. The “Investigations” has an appendix in which Hansteen recorded all the
magnetic observation data obtained at sea and on land which was available to him. This appendix,
i.e., the observation data, is the basis on which the maps published in his atlas were drawn. The
observation data included data recorded by ship’s captains at sea and data obtained by scientists. It
is worth noting that Hansteen also mentioned the observation data obtained by Edward Wright on
his voyage to the Azores in 1589 (Hansteen 1819, Appendix, p. 41).
Hansteen’s work triggered many discussions and reactions, for example, from David Brew-
ster (1781–1868) in Edinburgh, Johann Tobias Mayer (1752–1830) in Göttingen, Ludwig Wilhelm
Gilbert (1769–1824) in Leipzig, Caspar Horner (1774–1834) in Zurich, and Edward Sabine (1788–
1883) in Britain (Reich and Roussanova 2015, Chap. 2.6).
The “Investigations into Terrestrial Magnetism” was the first detailed work devoted solely to
geomagnetism; it therefore played a significant role which can by no means be overestimated.
It was largely responsible for many physicists and astronomers beginning to investigate the topic
of geomagnetism during the ensuing period. One of these was Gauss.
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4.2 The Magnetic Atlas (Christiania 1819)

Hansteen’s “Investigations into Terrestrial Magnetism” was accompanied by a “Magnetic Atlas”
(Magnetischer Atlas gehörig zum Magnetismus der Erde) which appeared the same year (1819):
Neither Dunn’s “A new atlas of variations of the magnetic needle” nor Churchman’s atlas was
particularly important for Hansteen; however, he is sure to have been familiar with Dunn’s
work, which was available in Copenhagen. Hansteen also quoted Samuel Dunn in a letter to
Wilhelm Ludwig Gilbert dated April 15, 1823 (Hansteen 1823, p. 159).
Unlike its predecessors, Hansteen’s “Magnetic Atlas” is purely historical, i.e., it only contains
geomagnetic maps depicting situations in previous years. This “Magnetic Atlas” consists solely of
tables with no text at all. The 7 plates presented here encompass 15 maps including both declination
and inclination maps. Hansteen’s atlas was therefore the first to include inclination maps. Another
remarkable feature is that Hansteen’s maps show geomagnetic lines not only on the oceans but also
on the continents.
Like his predecessors, Hansteen used Mercator projection; however, some of his maps were
drawn using stereographic projection.
Plate I: three variation maps for the year 1600 (no. I), 1700 (no. II), and 1756 (no. III)
Plate II: five variation maps for the year 1770 (no. IV), 1710 (no. V), 1720 (no. VI), and 1730
(no. VII); two inclination maps for the year 1700 (no. VIII) and 1800 (no. IX)
Plate III: two variation maps for the year 1800 (no. X) and 1744 (no. XI)
Plate IV: polar projection of a segment of the northern and southern hemispheres to clarify the
location and movement of the magnetic poles between the years 1600 and 1800 (Fig. 10)
Plate V: map of both hemispheres with complete drawings of the magnetic equator and the
variation lines for both magnetic axes as per Euler’s first theory14
Plate VI: Mappa Hydrographica sistens Declinationes Magneticas anni 1787 (Fig. 11)
Tafel VII: Mappa Hydrographica sistens Inclinationes Magneticas anni 1780 (Fig. 12)
Fig. 10 Hansteen’s “Atlas,” plate IV. State and University Library Göttingen, shelf mark 2 PHYS III, 8480
14
A hand-drawn map still exists; see Enebakk and Johansen (2011, between the pages 32 and 33).
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Fig. 11 Hansteen’s “Atlas,” plate VI. State and University Library Göttingen, shelf mark 2 PHYS III, 8480
Fig. 12 Hansteen’s “Atlas,” Plate VII State and University Library Göttingen, shelf mark 2 PHYS III, 8480
The print plates for all these maps still actually exist (Enebakk and Johansen 2011, pp. 66–67). All
Hansteen’s maps are based on observation data and not on some kind of theory, as was the case
with Dunn and Churchman.
4.3 Expedition to Russia (1828–1830)

Churchman conceived a plan of searching for the magnetic North Pole close to Baffin Bay;
however, he was unable to realize it (see here chapter 3.2). Hansteen believed the magnetic North
Pole was located in Siberia, which is why he considered organizing an expedition to Russia. This
expedition started in 1828 and lasted until 1830; it was totally devoted to geomagnetic research.
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Alexander von Humboldt’s trip to Russia took place in 1829 while Hansteen was still there.
Humboldt was also researching geomagnetism, but his expedition was also dedicated to other
topics. Hansteen returned to Norway in 1830.
4.4 Hansteen’s Maps

Hansteen’s cartographic work mainly centered around the years from 1819 to 1833. His “Magnetic
Atlas” was created at the beginning of this period, but it is important to note that Hansteen did not
publish any other atlas after 1819. However, several of the maps in his “Magnetic Atlas” were later
reproduced on several occasions (Reich and Roussanova 2015, Appendix 1).
Hansteen initially only published declination and inclination maps, but from 1824/5 onwards, he
started publishing maps with intensity lines. These mainly comprised the wonderful intensity and
isodynamic maps for which he became famous. It was Hansteen who coined the term “isodynamic
lines” for intensity lines. The terms “isogonic lines” for declination lines and “isoclinic lines” for
lines with the same angle of inclination also came from Hansteen (Hellmann 1895, pp. 14–15, 25).
5 Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777–1855) and Wilhelm Weber (1804–1891)

5.1 The Beginning
Born on April 30, 1777, in Brunswick, Carl Friedrich Gauss went down in history as a
mathematician, astronomer, geodesist, and physicist. In 1807, he was appointed Professor of
Astronomy at Göttingen University, where he was also the director of the observatory. Gauss had
already developed an interest in geomagnetism in his younger years; his private library included
the third edition of Churchman’s “Magnetic Atlas,” published in New York in 1800, as well as
Hansteen’s “Investigations into Terrestrial Magnetism” (Hansteen 1819).15 Whether Gauss owned
also Hansteen’s “Atlas” is unclear, because the Gauss library is no longer complete. However,
Gauss only adopted geomagnetism as his area of research when Wilhelm Weber became his
colleague and friend in 1831.
Wilhelm Weber was born on October 24, 1804, in Wittenberg; in 1822, he began studying
physics at the university in Halle, where he obtained his doctorate in 1827. The area of research
with which he mainly occupied his time in Halle was acoustics; he published numerous works on
this subject.
Gauss and Weber met for the first time at the seventh symposium of the “Association of German
Nature Researchers and Physicians” (Gesellschaft Deutscher Naturforscher und Ärzte) held in
Berlin in September 1828; this event was held under the aegis of Alexander von Humboldt, in
whose private establishment Gauss was accommodated during the symposium. At the symposium,
Weber presented his latest findings, all in the field of acoustics; although acoustics was not his
topic, Gauss was deeply impressed and seems to have quickly developed a great affection for the
young man. When the post of Professor of Physics at Göttingen University fell vacant in 1830,
Weber was appointed to the post, not without Gauss’ intervention.
Wilhelm Weber moved to Göttingen in September 1831. This signaled the beginning of a new
era in the field of geomagnetic research. Gauss and Weber complemented each other perfectly
15
State and University Library Göttingen, Gauss library no. 130 (Churchman) and no. 856 (Hansteen).
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– Gauss the great theoretician and Weber the great experimenter. The field of electrodynamics
and geomagnetism was new ground for both scientists in terms of physics research. Breathtaking
results were quickly obtained both theoretically and experimentally. Gauss was able to present
his “Intensitas vis magneticae terrestris ad mensuram absolutam revocata” to the Royal Society
of Sciences in Göttingen as early as December 15, 1832 (Gauss 1832); the Latin original did
not appear until 1841 (Gauss 1841). However, the physicist Johann Christian Poggendorff (1796–
1877) succeeded in publishing a German translation in 1833 in his famous journal “Annalen der
Physik” (Gauss 1833).
The first electromagnetic telegraph was installed in Göttingen that same year (1833); an aerial
magnetic double line ran across Göttingen from Weber’s physics cabinet to Gauss’ observatory.
The first telegram was sent at Easter 1833.
A plan was soon conceived to set up a magnetic observatory on the site of the astronomical
observatory. This was finished by the end of 1833; the new institution was equipped with a new
magnetometer, a device which had only recently been developed. Observations began in January
1834.
5.2 The “Magnetic Association” in Göttingen (1834–1843)

The “Magnetic Association” (Magnetischer Verein) in Göttingen was founded at the time the new
magnetic observatory was first put to use. The principles developed by Alexander von Humboldt in
particular were applied and developed further in Göttingen. Humboldt already had a small network
in 1829; all these stations recorded the intensity on specified dates at prescribed intervals with the
aid of a Gambey’s instrument. The method consisted of making corresponding observations and
graphically depicting the data thus obtained (Reich and Roussanova 2012/2013, Part I).
Gauss and Weber succeeded in quickly expanding the network, which came to involve a lot
of observation sites all working in cooperation. Humboldt’s method of making corresponding
observations was expanded and perfected (Reich and Roussanova 2012/2013, Part II). The success
quickly achieved by Gauss and Weber attracted numerous renowned physicists and astronomers to
Göttingen and led to the construction of many new magnetic observatories throughout the world,
not only in Europe but also in Russia, the USA, India, and various places in the British Empire.
While the first publications by Gauss and Weber appeared in the “Annalen der Physik” and the
“Astronomische Nachrichten,” a new journal, the “Results of the Observations by the Magnetic
Association” (Resultate aus den Beobachtungen des Magnetischen Vereins), was published since
1836; volumes 1 and 2 were published in Göttingen and volumes 3, 4, 5, and 6 in Leipzig. Scientific
essays by various authors were published, new instruments presented, new magnetic observatories
described, etc. However, the core of the journal was the presentation of the data received and
collected in Göttingen, which was commented on in detail in the “Explanatory notes on the
scheduled drawings and observation data” (Erläuterungen zu den Terminszeichnungen und den
Beobachtungszahlen). Gauss was the author for the first two volumes, Weber for the others. Each
volume was accompanied by numerous plates, 50 in all, 25 of which illustrated the corresponding
observations.
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5.3 Gauss’ “General Theory of Geomagnetism” (1839)

The publication of Gauss’ treatise “General Theory of Geomagnetism” (Allgemeine Theorie des
Erdmagnetismus) in the “Results” in 1839 was a milestone in the development of geomagnetic
science (Gauss 1839). Here Gauss introduced the term “potential,” which revolutionized the
further history of geomagnetic research and was also used in other areas of physics (Reich 2011,
pp. 48–50). It became possible to calculate data and draw maps using the potential equation V/R.
These maps were completely new; nothing like them had ever been seen before, based as they were
on a mathematical theory. The quality of the theory was established by comparing these maps with
those based on observation data; Gauss was very satisfied with their conformity.
Gauss’ “General Theory” was accompanied by six calculated maps of the world; these were the
first maps he published:
– Maps I and II: “map for the values of V/R” using both Mercator and stereographic projection
– Maps III and IV: “map for the calculated values of declination” using both Mercator and
stereographic projection
– Maps V and VI: “map for the calculated values of the whole intensity” using both Mercator and
stereographic projection
Maps I and II are the most remarkable; they are completely new inasmuch as they show
equipotential lines, known by Gauss as “balance lines” (Gleichgewichtslinien). Such a thing had
never existed before. From then on, maps were to include declination, inclination, intensity, and
equipotential lines.
The “Leipzig Allgemeine Zeitung” of August 6, 1839, included an extensive discussion titled
“On the general theory of geomagnetism discovered by Gauss.”16
5.4 Gauss’ and Weber’s “Atlas of Geomagnetism” (Leipzig 1840)

The publication of several maps naturally gave rise to the idea of publishing an atlas. This appeared
just 1 year later with the title “Atlas of Geomagnetism, traced according to the elements of the
theory. Supplement from the Observations of the Magnetic Association, with the collaboration
of C. W. B. Goldschmidt edited by Carl Friedrich Gauss and Wilhelm Weber” (Atlas des
Erdmagnetismus nach den Elementen der Theorie entworfen. Supplement aus den Beobachtungen
des Magnetischen Vereins unter Mitwirkung von C. W. B. Goldschmidt, herausgegeben von Carl
Friedrich Gauß und Wilhelm Weber) (Gauss and Weber 1840; Fig. 13).
In the Preface, we read:
My honoured friend Professor Weber, who balks at no sacrifice when it comes to rendering
a service to science, undertook to realise the data with great completeness in a number of
maps which depict all magnetic conditions everywhere on earth as determined by this theory.
[: : :] This explanation exhausts everything required to understand the maps and evaluate their
usefulness so completely that nothing remains for me to do but to express the wish that this
16
Anonymus: Über die von Gauß entdeckte allgemeine Theorie des Erdmagnetismus [Review]. In: Leipziger Allgemeine Zeitung, August
6, 1839, no. 218, supplement, p. 2566.
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Fig. 13 Title page of the “Atlas of Geomagnetism” (Leipzig 1840). State Library Berlin, shelf mark Kart LS HM
4ı My 3677
laborious and meritorious work will be duly recognised by friends of the natural sciences.17
(Gauss Werke 12, pp. 377–378)
The observation-based map used for comparison was/were:
– In the case of declination, Peter Barlow’s map (Barlow 1833)

– In the case of inclination, Caspar Horner’s maps (Horner 1836/1842)
– In the case of intensity, Edward Sabine’s map (Sabine 1838)
The “Atlas” published by Gauss and Weber in 1840 begins with a very comprehensive text and is
accompanied by 18 maps. This text explains each of the maps in detail.
17
In the original German: “Mein verehrter Freund, Herr Professor Weber, der keine Aufopferung scheuet, wo es gilt der Wissenschaft
einen Dienst zu leisten, unternahm es, eine solche Versinnlichung durch eine Anzahl von Karten zu veranstalten, die in grösster
Vollständigkeit alle magnetischen Verhältnisse für die ganze Erdoberfläche, so wie jene Theorie sie ergiebt, graphisch darzustellen. [: : :]
Diese Erklärung erschöpft alles, was zum Verständnis der Karten und zur Beurtheilung des Nutzens, welchen sie leisten können, nöthig ist,
so vollständig, dass mir nichts hinzuzusetzen übrig bleibt als der Wunsch, dass diese mühsame und verdienstliche Arbeit bei den Freunden
der Naturwissenschaften gerechte Anerkennung finden möge” (Gauss Werke vol. 12, pp. 377–378).
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DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-27793-1_94-1
Fig. 14 Map I: Map for the values of V/R – equipotential lines (Gauss and Weber 1840). State library Berlin, shelf
mark Kart LS HM 4ı My 3677
The maps were based on the geomagnetic parameters calculated for 1,262 sites around the
terrestrial globe; 10,096 values were accordingly calculated and recorded in tables (Gauss Werke
12, p. 386, including the last four tables). The scientists who contributed to the maps in the
atlas were Wilhelm Weber, the observer Benjamin Goldschmidt (1807–1851) who worked in
Göttingen, the Russian astronomer Aleksandr Nikolaevich Drashusov (1816–1890) who was
staying in Göttingen at that time, and the mathematician Heinrich Eduard Heine (1821–1881),
who was studying with Gauss at that time and later became famous in his own right.
This “Atlas” was also completely new inasmuch as it was not a historical atlas, but one which
depicted the present situation. It contained 18 maps, 9 with Mercator projection and 9 with
stereographic projection; maps XIII, XIV, XVII, and XVIII conform with the corresponding maps
already published in 1839: maps I and II “map for the values of V/R” (see Fig. 14), maps VII and
VIII “map for the calculated values of western intensity Y.”
In detail:
– The maps I (Fig. 14) und II: “map for the values of V/R” (Karte für die Werthe von V/R)
– The maps III und IV: “ideal distribution of magnetism on the earth’s surface” (Ideale Vertheilung
des Magnetismus auf der Erdoberfläche)
– The maps V und VI (Fig. 15): “map for the calculated values of the northern intensity X” (Karte
für die berechneten Werthe der nördlichen Intensität X)
– The maps VII und VIII: “map for the calculated values of the western intensity Y” (Karte für
die berechneten Werthe der westlichen Intensität Y)
– The maps IX und X: “map for the calculated values of the vertical intensity Z” (Karte für die
berechneten Werthe der verticalen Intensität Z)
– The maps XI und XII: “map for the calculated values of the horizontal intensity” (Karte für die
berechneten Werthe der horizontalen Intensität)
– The maps XIII (Fig. 16) und XIV: “map for the calculated values of the declination” (Karte für
die berechneten Werthe der Declination)
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DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-27793-1_94-1
Fig. 15 Map VI: Map for the calculated values of the northern intensity X, in stereographic projection (Gauss and
Weber 1840) state library Berlin, shelf mark Kart LS HM 4ı My 3677
Fig. 16 Map XIII: Map for the calculated values of the declination in Mercator projection, (Gauss 1839; Gauss and
Weber 1840) state library Berlin, shelf mark Kart LS HM 4ı My 3677
– The maps XV (Fig. 17) und XVI: “map for the calculated values of the inclination” (Karte für
die berechneten Werthe der Inclination)
– The maps XVII und XVIII: “map for the calculated values of the whole intensity” (Karte für die
berechneten Werthe der ganzen Intensität)
Map I, the map with the equipotential lines (Fig. 14), is the pièce de résistance; in the original atlas,
it was printed on special paper. The version of map I published in 1839 contained considerably
fewer lines; the version published in 1840 was a significant improvement. The inclination lines
were new to the atlas, as none of the maps in Gauss’ “General Theory” included them.
All four geomagnetic parameters, i.e., declination, inclination, intensity, and potential, were now
determined theoretically for the first time, “like planets and comet trails through their elements.”
Page 26 of 32
DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-27793-1_94-1
Fig. 17 Map XV: Map for the calculated values of the inclination in Mercator projection state library in Berlin, shelf
mark Kart LS HM 4ı My 3677
The following summary states: “This geomagnetic atlas thus opens the series of atlases which will
appear at suitable intervals to clearly present the fundamental data of the history of geomagnetism.
No excurse into the history of past times can be made here”18 (Gauss Werke 12, pp. 404–405).
5.5 The End of the “Magnetic Association” in Göttingen

The exceptionally fruitful collaboration between Gauss and Weber was shaken to its core when
Wilhelm Weber lost his professorial post in Göttingen in December 1837. He was one of the
so-called Göttingen Seven who cosigned the protest of professors in Göttingen against the breach
in the constitution made by the new king of Hanover, Ernst August I. (1771–1851, king since 1837).
Weber initially remained in Göttingen even though he no longer had a job; however, at Easter
1843 he went to Leipzig University, where he became Professor of Physics. Weber’s departure
signaled the end of the “Magnetic Association”; the “Results of the Observations by the Magnetic
Association” was discontinued. Both Gauss in Göttingen and Weber in Leipzig turned to other
areas of research; geomagnetism ceased to be a topic of interest to either. When Weber returned to
Göttingen in 1849 and was restored to his former professorial post, it was too late to build on past
successes. It was politics that put an abrupt end to the first large-scale global research network.
18
In the original German: “[: : :] (wie Planeten- und Cometenbahnen durch ihre Elemente) [: : :]. Der gegenwärtige
Atlas des Erdmagnetismus eröffnet also die Reihe von Atlassen, welche in angemessenen Zwischenzeiten erscheinen sollen, um
von nun an die Grunddata der Geschichte des Erdmagnetismus vollständig und übersichtlich vor Augen zu legen. Auf die Geschichte der
vergangenen Zeit kann hier nicht eingegangen werden” (Gauss Werke vol. 12, pp. 404–405).
Page 27 of 32
DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-27793-1_94-1
6 Excursus: Berghaus’ “Physical Atlas”

Heinrich Karl Berghaus (1797–1884) was a geographer and cartographer; he studied in Berlin and
was a professor at the “Building Academy” (Bauakademie) in Berlin from 1824 to 1855. Berghaus
and Humboldt were friends for more than 40 years and maintained a lively correspondence. In
1845, Humboldt published the first volume of his acclaimed “Cosmos” (Humboldt 1845–1862).
Heinrich Berghaus was the author and originator of the atlas which accompanied it. Berghaus’
“Physical Atlas or collection of maps depicting the main organic and inorganic natural phenomena
according to their geographical dispersion and distribution” (Physikalischer Atlas oder Sammlung
von Karten, auf denen die hauptsächlichsten Erscheinungen der anorganischen und organischen
Natur nach ihrer geographischen Verbreitung und Vertheilung bildlich dargestellt sind) was
published between 1837 and 1843 (Berghaus 1837–1843). At that time, this “Atlas” was the first
of its kind; Berghaus’ “Atlas” included maps of the following eight areas:
1. Meteorology and climatology

2. Hydrology and hydrographics
3. Geology
4. Magnetism of the earth
5. Geography of plants
6. Geography of animals
7. Anthropography
8. Ethnography
Part 4 of the “Physical Atlas” was accordingly devoted to geomagnetism; it contained five maps
by different cartographers: three declination maps with both Mercator and stereographic projection
and two intensity maps, also with Mercator and stereographic projection. Geomagnetism conse-
quently only accounts for a comparatively small part of the “Physical Atlas,” which comprises
altogether 90 pages.
A second edition of Berghaus’ “Physical Atlas” also appeared in Gotha between 1849 and 1863.
The third edition published in Gotha between 1886 and 1892 by Hermann Berghaus (1828–1890),
a nephew of Heinrich Berghaus, is particularly interesting (Berghaus 1886–1892). The author
of the section “Geomagnetism” was Georg Neumayer (1826–1909). This section included maps
previously published by Hansteen, Gauss, and Weber and a map with equipotential lines calculated
for 1885 (Fig. 18); it was the second of its kind, following the Atlas published by Gauss and Weber
in 1840 (see Reich and Roussanova 2015, chapter 3.11).
7 The Term “Atlas”

Tobias Mayer’s “Mathematical Atlas” (Mathematischer Atlas), published in Augsburg in 1745, is
particularly important. Mayer’s aim was to “extract the most necessary and useful information and
place it in the hands of lovers of these marvellous [mathematical] sciences briefly yet in an easy,
clear manner”19 (Mayer 1745, preface). This was followed by all mathematical areas customary at
19
In the original German: das “nötighste und nützlichste auszulesen, und auf eine kurze, jedoch leichte und deutliche Art denen Geneigten
Liebhabern dieser herrlichen Wissenschaften (sc. der mathematischen) in die Hände zu liefern” (Mayer 1745, Vorwort).
Page 28 of 32
DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-27793-1_94-1
Fig. 18 Map with declination and equipotential lines, calculated for 1885, print 1891. Berghaus’ “Physical Atlas,
section “Geomagnetism,” 3. edition (Gotha 1892). State library Berlin, shelf mark 2ı W 183
that time, twelve in all, presented with the help of 60 + 8 plates. Mayer’s “Mathematical Atlas”
facilitated the use of the word “atlas” in other areas concerned with collections of maps and tables.
The term “atlas” was again used just a short time later for geomagnetic maps; geomagnetic
atlases presented terrestrial maps with geomagnetic details, mostly lines, initially only declination
lines. In 1776, Dunn’s atlas was in its early stages. The subsequent history of geomagnetic atlases
reflects the development of geomagnetic science; ultimately all four types of geomagnetic lines
were included in the magnetic atlases.
During the first half of the nineteenth century, the term atlas came into use in yet more
areas, i.e., in both physics and medicine. While the term “Physical Atlas” was still used in
physics with reference to the earth and illustrations of the earth’s surface, this was no longer the
case in medicine. Here the word “atlas” was used to mean merely a collection of plates, e.g.,
“Obstetrical Atlas” (Geburtshülflicher Atlas) (Kilian) or “Atlas of Pathological Anatomy for Prac-
tising Physicians” (Atlas der pathologischen Anatomie für praktische Ärzte) (Albers 1832–1862).
Thereafter, the word “atlas” was no longer restricted to a collection of any kind of images of the
earth but was also used to describe any pictorial collection.
Acknowledgments The authors want to say thank you very much to the following persons and
institutions: Henrik Dupont, the Royal Library of Copenhagen; Wolfgang Crom, Steffi Mittenzwei,
and Holger Scheerschmidt, the State Library in Berlin, department of maps; and Bärbel Mund and
Helmuth Rohlfing, the State and University Library Göttingen, department of manuscripts and rare
books.
Page 29 of 32
DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-27793-1_94-1
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Handbook of Geomathematics

Gauss’ and Weber’s “Atlas of Geomagnetism” (1840) Was not the

2 Samuel Dunn (1723–1794)

his astronomical observations. In 1763, he stopped working as a schoolteacher in Chelsea and

2.2 Dunn’s Geomagnetic Maps

3 John Churchman (1753–1805)

– Churchman to Banks, April 10, 1787, Philadelphia (letter no. 723)

3.2 The Magnetic Atlas (Philadelphia 1790)

Monsieur le Conseiller de Collèges Roumovsky5 remit un extrait en langue russe que

3.3 The Magnetic Atlas (2. Edition, London 1794)

4 Christopher Hansteen (1784–1873)

4.2 The Magnetic Atlas (Christiania 1819)

4.3 Expedition to Russia (1828–1830)

4.4 Hansteen’s Maps

5 Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777–1855) and Wilhelm Weber (1804–1891)

5.2 The “Magnetic Association” in Göttingen (1834–1843)

5.3 Gauss’ “General Theory of Geomagnetism” (1839)

5.4 Gauss’ and Weber’s “Atlas of Geomagnetism” (Leipzig 1840)

– In the case of declination, Peter Barlow’s map (Barlow 1833)

5.5 The End of the “Magnetic Association” in Göttingen

6 Excursus: Berghaus’ “Physical Atlas”

1. Meteorology and climatology

7 The Term “Atlas”

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