{"id":8741,"date":"2017-05-10T13:57:56","date_gmt":"2017-05-10T10:57:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aso.com.tr\/who-invented-the-compass\/"},"modified":"2026-10-11T16:59:18","modified_gmt":"2026-10-11T13:59:18","slug":"who-invented-the-compass","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aso.com.tr\/en\/who-invented-the-compass\/","title":{"rendered":"Who Invented the Compass?"},"content":{"rendered":"
In short:<\/strong> The compass was invented in China<\/strong>; there is no single inventor. The first magnetic direction finders were lodestone \u201csinan\u201d spoons<\/strong> of the Han dynasty (about 2nd century BC \u2013 1st century AD), used for divination. The magnetised-needle compass was first described by Shen Kuo<\/strong> in 1088 and used for navigation in the early 12th century.<\/div>\n

Timeline<\/h2>\n
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Period<\/th>\nDevelopment<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
2nd c. BC \u2013 1st c. AD<\/td>\nLodestone sinan spoon in China<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1088<\/td>\nShen Kuo describes the needle compass and magnetic declination<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Early 12th c.<\/td>\nChinese sailors use the compass at sea<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
c. 1190<\/td>\nFirst European record (Alexander Neckam)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
13th c.<\/td>\nSpread in the Islamic world and the Mediterranean<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

A compass needle aligns with Earth’s magnetic field and points to the magnetic<\/strong> north pole, not the geographic one; the angle between them is magnetic declination.<\/p>\n

Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n

Who invented the compass?<\/h3>\n

The Chinese; there is no single inventor. The first were Han-dynasty lodestone sinan spoons.<\/p>\n

When was the compass first used for navigation?<\/h3>\n

Chinese sailors used it in the early 12th century; the first European record dates from about 1190.<\/p>\n

Why does a compass point north?<\/h3>\n

Its magnetised needle aligns with Earth’s magnetic field and points to magnetic north.<\/p>\n