Note 4 — CHAPTER 2 MAGNETIC PHENOMENA
Reading edition
On the Continent, experimental work in other fields was already in progress, thanks to the genius of Descartes, Galileo and other founders of modern science. Gilbert, like Harvey, spent some years in Italy, coming under the direct influence of the great Italian physicist-astronomer-physician Galileo. Harvey was in Padua (1598-1602) during Galileo’s professoriate. The introduction of scientific methods in England at this time may well be credited to Italian and French influences.