North Magnetic Pole Found: Earth's Hidden Compass Revealed
James Clark Ross located the North Magnetic Pole on June 1, 1831, during an expedition with his uncle John Ross to find the Northwest Passage. Ross took compass readings at a point on the Boothia Peninsula in the Canadian Arctic where the dip needle pointed straight down, indicating the magnetic pole's location at approximately 70 degrees 5 minutes N, 96 degrees 46 minutes W. The magnetic pole is not fixed; it moves continuously due to changes in Earth's liquid iron outer core. Since Ross's discovery, it has drifted northward across the Canadian Arctic and is currently moving toward Siberia at roughly 37 miles per year. This accelerating drift has required more frequent updates to navigation systems and is studied as evidence of changes deep within Earth's interior.
June 1, 1831
195 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on June 1
Praetorian guards executed Didius Julianus in his palace just sixty-six days after he purchased the Roman throne at an auction. His violent end cleared the path…
Hugh Capet wasn't supposed to last. The Carolingian dynasty had ruled France for two centuries, and the nobles who elected Hugh in 987 figured he'd be easy to c…
Rouen didn't fall to a siege. It surrendered because its English defenders simply left. King Philip II Augustus had spent years dismantling the Angevin empire p…
Genghis Khan didn't destroy Zhongdu — he waited. For two years, his forces strangled the city's supply lines until Emperor Xuanzong fled south, abandoning his o…
Alfonso X ascended the throne of Castile and León, inheriting a kingdom poised for expansion. His reign transformed the Iberian Peninsula by codifying the Siete…
The Livonian Order had conquered the Baltic for over a century — crusading knights, fortified castles, total dominance. Then Turaida happened. In 1298, an allia…
Talk to History
Have a conversation with historical figures who witnessed this era. Ask questions, explore perspectives, and bring history to life.