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The north pole of a simple magnet was discovered first, for the ancients lacked the technology to go there. The north pole of a magnet is considered to point towards the Earth's North Pole. It is an arbitrary convention.

[Actually your local magnet will point in the northerly direction of the Earth's magnetic field at your location. This will vary from the true north by several degrees. The Earth's magnetic field is the net effect of several electric currents circulating within the Earth's magma.]

Since opposite poles attract, it is obvious that the actual magnetic north pole must in fact be a magnetic south pole, but by convention, it is known as the Magnetic North Pole. The north pole of your magnet points to the North Pole.

Answer

No-one knows who named the earth's poles, 'North' and 'South' -and, remember, these are English terms; other languages use different terms. The likelihood is that the names originated with mariners. It's a mistake to believe that the earth's poles were named after the polarities of a magnet; in fact, a magnet's poles were named according to the direction in which they pointed (when suspended) -i.e. the 'North-seeking' and 'South-seeking' poles. Over time, we have dropped the 'seeking', and the magnetic polarities are now known as 'north' and 'south' poles.

In fact, the magnetic poles point, not to 'True North' and 'True South', but to 'Magnetic North' and 'Magnetic South'. 'Magnetic North' and 'Magnetic South' are names given to LOCATIONS, and have nothing whatsoever to do with the magnetic polarity of those locations. They were so-named simply in order to distinguish these locations from those of 'True North' and 'Magnetic North'.

Because 'unlike poles attract', the reason that the north pole of a magnet is attracted towards 'Magnetic North' is because the magnetic polarity of that location is a south pole.

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