active 13th century de Maricourt Pierre

Remembered as Petrus Peregrinus de Maricourt (also called Pierre de Maricourt), he was a 13th-century French scholar associated with experiments on magnetism. He is best known for the Epistola de magnete, a work often described as the earliest surviving treatise devoted to the properties of magnets.

That text stands out because it does more than repeat old ideas: it describes practical observations and experiments, including the behavior of magnetic poles and the use of a freely moving needle. For that reason, he is often presented as an early figure in experimental science, especially in the history of physics and navigation.

Very little about his personal life is firmly known, which is common for medieval scholars. What has lasted is the influence of his writing, which kept his name alive as an important early investigator of magnetism.