It is wonderful indeed,
and a striking proof of the penetration and sagacity of this
extraordinary man, that with his means of information he should have
been able to draw such conclusions, and to take so large and
comprehensive a view of the subject as he appears to have done." In
1692, Halley explained his theory of terrestrial magnetism, and
begged captains of ships to take observations of the variations of
the compass in all parts of the world, and to communicate them to the
Royal Society, "in order that all the facts may be readily available
to those who are hereafter to complete this difficult and complicated
subject."
The extent to which Halley was in advance of his contemporaries, in
the study of terrestrial magnetism, may be judged from the fact that
the subject was scarcely touched after his time till the year 1811.
The interest which he felt in it was not of a merely theoretical
kind, nor was it one which could be cultivated in an easy-chair. Like
all true investigators, he longed to submit his theory to the test of
experiment, and for that purpose Halley determined to observe the
magnetic variation for himself. He procured from King William III.
the command of a vessel called the "Paramour Pink," with which he
started for the South Seas in 1694.
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