period created magazines or wrote for
them. During the 1800s the reading
audience grew, and new magazines were
created for different groups of people.
For example, women’s magazines and
children’s magazines became popular.
These magazines often included
illustrations.
Photographs became common in magazines
during the 1900s. Magazines also
came to depend heavily on advertising.
The sale of advertisements allowed publishers
to keep magazine prices down,
which attracted more readers.
#More to explore
Advertising • Book and Bookmaking
• Newspaper • Printing
Magellan,
Ferdinand
Ferdinand Magellan was an explorer
from Portugal. He and his sailors were
the first Europeans to cross the Pacific
Ocean. One of his ships made the first
trip around the world, though he did
not live to complete the voyage.
Early Life
Magellan was born in Portugal in about
1480. He came from a noble family. As
a young man he served in the Portuguese
navy. He fought in India and the
East Indies. The East Indies are the
islands between mainland Southeast Asia
and Australia. Magellan helped Portugal
win control of trade with the Moluccas,
an island group in the East Indies. Europeans
called the Moluccas the Spice
Islands because they produced valuable
spices.
Ferdinand Magellan
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Magellan, Ferdinand 15
or float off the ground. But for thousands
of years, people believed that
magicians actually had special powers.
They thought magicians could control
other people and natural forces, such as
the rain or the wind. People thought to
have magical powers were also known as
witches, wizards, and sorcerers.
Today most magic tricks involve
“sleight of hand.” This is the ability to
move objects, such as cards or coins,
quickly and secretly. The secrets to
many magic tricks are written down in
books that anyone can read. It may take
weeks or months to learn a trick,
though. Many magicians, also called
illusionists, carefully guard the secrets to
their tricks.
One of the most famous magicians was
Harry Houdini. He was known for his
amazing escapes from handcuffs and
straitjackets in the early 1900s. Other
important magicians have included
Doug Henning, David Copperfield,
Penn and Teller, and David Blaine.
Magna Carta
The Magna Carta (Latin for “Great
Charter”) was a document that gave
certain rights to the English people.
King John of England agreed to it on
June 15, 1215. The Magna Carta stated
that the king must follow the law. He
could not simply rule as he wished. It
was one of the first documents to state
that citizens had such rights.
England’s nobles (called barons), church
leaders, and the common people disliked
King John. He demanded too much
money from his people. The barons
drew up the Magna Carta to limit his
power. John was too weak to resist them.
The Magna Carta dealt mostly with the
rights of barons and the Roman Catholic
church. However, it also guaranteed
the rights of women and children who
inherited property. It stated that a per-
A picture from the 1800s shows
King John of England signing the
Magna Carta.
A copy of the
Magna Carta
dating from
1215 is on
display in the
British Library
in London,
England.
Two children entertain their family members
with a magic show.
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Magna Carta 17
son could not be punished for a crime
unless they were lawfully convicted.
Finally, the Magna Carta gave barons
the right to declare war on the king if he
did not follow the document.
The Magna Carta was a first step in the
creation of England’s constitution.
Many other countries later used the
ideas of the Magna Carta in their constitutions,
too.
#More to explore
Constitution
Magnet and
Magnetism
A magnet is a rock or a piece of metal
that can pull certain types of metal
toward itself. The force of magnets,
called magnetism, is a basic force of
nature, like electricity and gravity. Magnetism
works over a distance. This
means that a magnet does not have to be
touching an object to pull it.
What Causes Magnetism
People have known for a long time that
a certain type of rock, called lodestone,
is a natural magnet. When scientists
learned why that is, they also learned
how to make other metals into
magnets.
Magnetism happens when tiny particles
called electrons behave in a certain way.
All objects in the universe are made up
of units called atoms. Atoms in turn are
made up of electrons and other particles
(neutrons and protons). The electrons
spin around the atom’s nucleus, which
contains the other particles. The spinning
electrons form tiny magnetic
forces. Sometimes many of the electrons
in an object spin in the same direction.
In these cases, all the tiny magnetic
forces from the electrons add up to
make the object one big magnet.
It is possible to make a magnet by taking
an existing magnet and rubbing another
piece of metal with it. The new piece of
metal must be rubbed continuously in
the same direction. This will make the
electrons in that metal start to spin in
the same direction.
Electricity can also create magnets. Electricity
is a flow of electrons. As electrons
move through a piece of wire they have
the same effect as electrons spinning
