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Who first demonstrated the effect of Earth’s rotation on a gyroscope?

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gyrocompass The gyrocompass aboard the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) ship *Rainier*. Gyrocompasses are navigational instruments that use a continuously driven gyroscope to accurately seek the direction of true (geographic) north.

The French physicist Léon Foucault first demonstrated the effect of Earth’s rotation on a gyroscope in 1852.12

Foucault, who also coined the term "gyroscope," conducted experiments in the 1850s using a rotor mounted in gimbal rings to show that the spinning wheel maintained its orientation in space regardless of the rotation of the Earth. For this demonstration, as well as his earlier work with the Foucault pendulum which provided experimental proof of Earth's rotation, he was awarded the Copley Medal by the Royal Society of London in 1855.23