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It is impossible to pinpoint its exact origin. The ancient Greeks already knew about magnetism. The Chinese, at least 2,000 years ago, already knew that a piece of metal rubbed on a magnetite stone acquires the property of pointing one end to the north and the other to the south. The problem is that there are no records of when or where this knowledge came to be used to guide navigators and adventurers.
The first mention of a compass in a European text was made in the year 1180 by the English theologian Alexander Neckam, in the book De Utensilibus (“On Instruments”). Even so, there is reliable evidence that early magnetic devices were used long before that by the Chinese. As Arabs and Scandinavians also made sea voyages around the twelfth century, the compass may have appeared independently and simultaneously in one of these groups. Pioneer models had a simple magnetized needle attached to corks or wood chips to float in a container of water.
In the following centuries, there was also a version without a liquid container, which was disturbed by shocks and vibrations. Only in the 19th century, when technological innovations ended the risks of leakage, did the liquid compass prevail. Even today, even with satellite navigation systems such as GPS, every boat or plane, no matter how modern it is, has an old-fashioned compass on the dashboard.