Question: Who discovered the first magnet

Martin Wieczysty answered on 16 Mar 2015:

There is a naturally occurring mineral called Magnetite, that is magnetic. There is not much naturally occurring iron metal on the earth’s crust – most is in the form of iron oxide, which can be heated to form iron metal. Before this process was invented, iron metal was generally found in fallen meteorites from space. So whoever had some of this iron, and held it next to magnetite discovered the first magnet.
I think the ancient Greeks are credited for most discoveries in science, so probably discovered the first magnet too. They know how to make iron from iron oxide, so had plenty to experiment with. They were very good at writing things down – this is why, if you do a science experiment, you have to write down what you see, so other people know what you have done.