T

RATED

T h e T r u e S to r y o f a L o n e G e n iu s W h o S o lv ed t h e G r e a t e st S c ie n t if ic P r o b l e m o f H is T im e

The Illustrated
L o i g i t u d e

D a v a So b e l
AND

W i l l i a m J. H. A n d r e w e s

W alker & Com pany

N ew York

For my mother, Betty Gruber Sobet a four-star navigator who can sail by the heavens but always drives by way of Canarsle
- D . S.

For my parents, John and Pol Andrewes, my haven throughout the voyage
W. A.
Text copyright C) Dava Sobel 1995 Introduction copyright Dava Sobet 1998 Illustration captions and supplcmentaiy text copyright W illiam J . H. Andrewes 1998 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any Form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Publisher* First published in the United States o f America in 1998 by Walker Publishing Company, Inc.; first paperback edition published in 2003 Libraiy of Congress Cataloging-m-Publication Data Sobel, Dava. The illustrated longitude/Dava Sobel and William J . H . Andrewes. p. cm. Originally published: Longitude. New York: Walker, 1995Includes bibliographical references and index. IS B N 0-8027-1344-0 1. Longitude Measurement History. 3. Harrison, Jo h n , 1693 1776. BritainBiography* W illiam J . H., 1950QB225.S63 1998 98-19858 C IP 526'.62'09 dc21 IS B N 0-8027-7593^4 (paperback) Book design by Robert Updegraff Color separations by Rapida Group, pic, London, England Printed in Italy by L E G O , Vicenza 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 III. Title. 2. Chronometers History* II. Andrewes,

A. Clock and watch makers Great

I. Sobel, Dava. Longitude.

Acknowledgments
The authors offer their special thanks to Catherine Andrewes, Jon ath an Betts, Michael Carlisle, Bruce Chandler, George Gibson, O w en Gingerich, Derek Howsc, Andrew King, D avid Landes, Peggy Liversidge. D avid Penney, and M artha Richardson for their useful comments to the text and captions. The following individuals have contributed in m any other important ways: Diane Ackerman; Pippa Andrewes; A rt Resource, New York; Alison Gallup; Ashmolean M useum, Oxford: Anne Steinberg; Ellen Rruce Atkins; D avid Axelrod; Rear-Admiral Francois Bellec; M ario Biagioli; Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale, Florence: Carla Giuducci Bonanni; Bibliotheque Nationale de France, Paris: Marie-Therexe Gousset; Bodleian Library, Oxford; The Boston Athenaeum: Catherine Cooper, Richard Wendorf; Bridgeman Art Library, London & N ew York: Lesley Black, Adrian Gibbs, Alice Whitehead; British Library, London: Nicola Beech, Gw en Gittings; The British Museum, London: D avid Thompson; M artin Burgess; Cambridge University Libraiy, Royal Greenwic h Observatory Archives: D . J . Hall, R uth Long, A dam J . Perkins; Catherine Cardinal; Christs Hospital, Horsham: D ot Mariner, N .M . Plumley; Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments, Harvard University; Conservatoire National des Arts ct Metiers, Paris; Frederique Desvergnes, Nathalie Naudi; George Daniels; Fiftieth Space W ing Public Affairs, Falcon A ir Force Base, Colorado: Bill Bollwerk, M ary I linson, Steve Hutselt; Fourth Estate: Victoria Barnsley, Graham Cook, Paul Forty, Victoria Heyworth D unne, Christopher Potter; Charles Frodsham & Co., London: Richard Stenning, Philip W hyte; Gottingen University Library (Staatsarchiv Hannover); J o h n Griffiths; Harvard Law School Library: D avid Warrington; Leiden; Peter de Clercq, Robert van Gent; National Association of W atch and Clock Collectors, Columbia, Pa.: Beth Bishano, Eileen D oudna, Kathy Everett; National M aritim e Museum: M aria Blyzinski, G loria Clifton, Kristen Lippincott, Lindsey Macfarlane, Richard O rm ond, Colin Starkey, Dav id Taylor; National Portrait Gallery; Bernard Horrocks, J ill Springall; Nederlands Scheepvaartmuseum: Diederik W ildem an, W illem M orzer Bruyns; Observatoire de Paris: J . Alexandre, Suzanne Debarbat; Offentliche Kunstsammlung Basel, Kunstmuseum: Charlotte Gutzwiller; O le Roemer M useum , Denm ark: Claus Thykier; M ariana OUer; Patent Office, London; The Pepys Library, Magdalene College, Cambridge: Aude Fitzsimons; Steve Pitkin; Fred Powell; A nthony G. Randall; Royal Collection Enterprises: Sarah Blake, Shruti Patel, Nicole Tetzner; P. J . Rogers; Royal Society: Sandra Cum m ing, Samantha Eley; Amanda Sobel; Stephen Sobel; Science Museum, London: Kevin Johnson, Alan M orton; Science Museum/Science and Society Picture Library, London: Venita Paul; Alan Neale Stimson; J a n Tadrup; N orm an J . W . Thrower; The Time M useum , Rockford, Illinois: Patricia Atwood, Seth Atwood. A nn Shallcross, J o h n Shallcross; Trinity College, Cambridge: Alison Sprospon; A. J . Turner; United Technologies Corporation: M arie Dalton-Meyer, Lawrence Gavrich; University Library, Leiden, Departm ent o f Western Manuscripts: R. Breugelmans; Robert Updegraff; Usher Gallery, Lincoln: J u d ith Robinson, Richard Wood; U.S. Naval Observatory, Washington, D .C .: G e o ff Chester, Stephen D ick; Burton Van Deusen; Albert Van Helden; Robert Vessot; W alker and Company: Vicki Haire, Ivy H am lin, M arlene Tungseth; Jeffrey L. W ard Graphic Design: Jeffrey W ard; W idener Library Im aging Services, H arvard University: Stephen Sylvester, Robert Zinck; W illiam Andrews Clark M em orial Libraiy, U C L A : J o h n Bidwell; W orshipful C om pany o f Clockmakers: Christopher Clarke, S ir George W hite; Yale Center for British Art: M arily n H unt, M a ria Rossi; The Earl o f Yarborough

Magazine-. J o h n

Harvard

Bethell, Ja n e t Hawkins, Je a n M artin,

Christopher Reed; Harvard M a p Collection: D avid Cobb. Joseph Garver, Arlene Olivero; Harvard University Art Museums: M arie Clare Altenhofen, Marjorie Cohn, Elizabeth Gombosi, Elizabeth Mitchell; Anders Hedberg; H oughton Libraiy, H arvard University: Anne Anninger, Tom Ford, Roger Stoddard; Huygensmuseum Hofwijck, The Netherlands: M a ria Arts Vehmeyer; Istituto e M useo di Storia della Scienza, Florence: M ara M iniati, Franca Principe; Isaac Klein; Zoe Klein; Ladygate Antiques, Beverly, U .K.: Lew and Pat G oodm an; Heather Lees; J o h n H . Leopold; M ichael S. M ahoney; Tony Mercer; Musee de la M arine, Pans: Delphi ne Allannic; M useum Boerhaave,

tr o

ic

tu

In the exciting w ars since the publication of Lonqitude, many thoughtful readers have commentedwhile others complained about the lack of pictures or diagrams to vivify the story. Therefore I am delighted now to introduce this handsome nevv illustrated volume and to welcome my good fnend W illiam J . H. Andrewes as its coauthor. Will and I met each other over an exhibit of astrolabes at Chicagos Adler Planetarium in February 1992, but the subject soon turned to longitude. W ill, as curator of Harvard University s Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments, invited me, a science writer, to report on the Longitude S \mposium he planned to host nearlv two years later in Cambridge, Massachusetts. I hoped to attend the three-day event and write an article about it for a popular magazine. Editors I approached at numerous periodicals, however, expressed the unanimous sentiment that the concept was esoteric in the extreme, and none could imagine who would want to read about it. After months of unsuccessful pet tioning, 1 finally found a home for my idea at Harvard M agazine just a few days before the symposium started. I arrived on campus to discover some five hundred participants, many of them members of the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors, observ ing the tercentenaiy of a relatively uncelebrated English genius named Jo h n Harrison, who, by the mid-1700s, had almost single-handedly solved the age-old longitude problem by perfecting the art of portable precision timekeeping. Will, long a champion of I larnsons, had looked after the clocks at the O ld Royal Observatory and the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England, where Harrison s treasures are exhibited, and had restored to working order an early wooden clock that Harrison never finished. In addition to the three-century travelogue of slides shown during the symposium lectures, along with colorlul animated videos of Harrison s mechanisms, W ills conference included a viewing of important clocks from the Harvard collection. He thoughtfully extracted the interiors from most of these instruments so that their ornate wood and metal cases stood empty beside their revealed works. From our experiences at the Longitude Symposium, W ill and I each created a book. H s, The Qu&ft forLangitiuk, featured the full formal proceedings of all the sessions, annotated and illustrated in wonderful detail. Mine, shorter and smaller in scope, focused on Harrisons struggle with the intractable problem and the even more intractable authorities dead set against him. In the following pages of our joint venture, the original iM igitude text unfolds among 180 images of characters, events, instruments (especially Harrisons contrivances), maps, and publications that illuminate the narrative. These pi tures, paired with Will's detailed captions, offer up their own version of a swashbuckling scientific adventure in the context of histoiy and technology. D a v a So b e l

V im w m m

When I m playful 1 use the meridians of longitude and parallels of latitude tor a seine, and drag the Atlantic Ocean lor whales.

M ARK TWAIN, Life on the Mwuvippi

MCE O N A W E D N E S D A Y excursion when I was a little girl, m y father bought me a beaded wire ball that I loved. A t a touch, I could collapse the toy into a Hat coil between my palms, or pop it open to make a hollow sphere. R ounded out, it resembled a tiny Earth, because its hinged wires traced the same pattern ot intersecting circles that 1 had seen on the globe in my schoolroom the thin black lines of latitude and longitude. The few colored beads slid along the wire paths haphazardly, like ships on the high seas. M y father strode up Fifth Avenue to Rockefeller Center w ith me on his shoulders, and we stopped to stare at the statue o f Atlas, carrying Heaven and Earth on his. The bronze orb that Atlas held aloft, like the wire toy in my hands, was a seethrough world, defined by im aginary lines. The Equator. The Ecliptic. The Tropic of Cancer. The Tropic of Capricorn, The Arctic Circle, The prime meridian. Even then I could recognize, in the graph-paper grid imposed on the globe, a powerful symbol o f all the real lands and waters on the planet.

Lee Laurie's forty-fioe-foot high M aine o f A tlas hmj erected in 19)7at the Rockefeller Center's International BuiLhng on Ftft bAvenue, New York City.

Im a gina ry Lines
Copenhagen, Jerusalem , St. Petersburg, Pisa, Pans, and Philadelphia, among other places, before it settled down at last in London. As the w orld turns, any line drawn from pole to pole may serve as well as any other for a starting line of reference. The placement of the prime meridian is a purely political decision. Here lies the real, hard-core difference between latitude and longitude beyond the superficial difference in line direction that any child can see: The zero-degree parallel o f latitude is fixed by the laws of nature, while the zero-degree m eridian o f longitude shifts like the sands of time. This difference makes finding latitude child's play, and turns the determination ol longitude, especially at sea, into an adult dilem m a one that stumped the wisest m inds ot the w orld for the better part ol hum an histoiy. A ny sailor worth his salt can gauge his latitude well enough by the length of the day, or by the height o f the sun or known guide stars above the horizon. Christopher Columbus Fiof. 1. tt//cm lu'r A vies
Tan m s
Xi>vi'ntJ>t j'

The Earthj orbit around the ,itm am) the hit of it.1axis create the seasons ami the imaginary lutes of the Equator and the Tropics. YXhcn the sun passes oser the equator on Alarch 20 (the spring equinox), it appears from Earth to enter the sign of Aries. On June 21 (the summer sobtue). the sun appears to enter the siqn ol Lancer as it passes over the Tropic ot Cancer. In September at the autumnal equinox, the sun cm'scs the Equator southward and enters the sign ofLibra, and the wintersolstice in December brings the sun to its farthest point south of the Equator, oi'cr the Tropic of Capricorn.

.h ijfv .fl
liscvs J u ly Aquarius i> c

(cmin i

5 : " > "

l>o Ju n u a rv Vi I'rb n u irv

l,iln n

S;it>itaiiiis C

Mn v

K rnrpi t> M arch

-

\p r il

Im a g in a ry L in e.'

followed a straight path across the Atlantic when he "sailed the parallel on his M92 journey, and the technique w ould doubtless have carried him to the Indies had not the Americas intervened. The measurement ol longitude meridians, in comparison, is tempered by time. To learn ones longitude at sea, one needs to know w hat time it is aboard ship and also the time at the home port or another place oi known longitude at that very same moment. The two clock times enable the navigator to convert the hour difference into a geographical separation. Since the Earth takes twenty-four hours to complete one Full revolution of three hundred sixty degrees, one hour marks one twenty-fourth of a spin, or fifteen degrees. A nd so each h o u rs time difference between the ship and the starting point marks a progress of fifteen degrees of longitude to the east or west. Every day at sea. when the navigator resets his ships clock to local noon as the sun reaches its highest point in the sky. and then consults the home-port clock, every hou rs discrepancy between them translates into another fifteen degrees of longitude. Those same fifteen degrees of longitude also correspond to a distance traveled. At the Equator, where the girth of the Earth is greatest, fifteen degrees stretch fully one thousand miles. North or south of that line, however, the mileage value of each degree decreases. O ne degree ot longitude equals four minutes of rime the w orld over, but in terms of distance, one degree shrinks from sixty-eight miles at the Equator to virtually nothing at the poles. Precise knowledge o f the hour in tw o different places at oncea longitude prerequisite so easily accessible today from any pair o f cheap wristwatches'was utterly unattainable up to and including the era o f pendulum clocks. O n the deck of a rolling ship, such clocks w ould slow dow n, or speed up, or stop running altogether. N orm al changes in temperature encountered en route from a cold country o f origin to a tropical trade zone thinned or thickened a clock's lubricating oil and made its metal parts expand or contract w ith equally disastrous results. A rise or fall in barometric pressure, or the subtle variations in the E arth s gravity from one latitude to another, could also cause a clock to gain or lose time.

They that go dow n to the Sea in Ships, that do business in great waters, these see the works ot the Lord, and H is wonders in the deep, P S A L M 107

outpost o f the Brittany peninsula. B ut as the sailors continued north, they discovered to

Sir Clowduley Shorell (c. 1650-1707) hat) a dogged him twelve days at sea. Returning home victorious from G ibraltar diitinguuhed career in the Royal Navy. He mte to the after skirmishes w ith the French M editerranean forces, S ir Clowdisley rank of rear admiral by the could not beat the heavy autum n overcast. Fearing the ships m ight founder on coastal time he ira.'farty-tmp and utui appointed commander in chief rocks, the adm iral sum moned all his navigators to put their heads together. of the British fleet,' atfiftyfour, m 1704. Thi> portrait The consensus opinion placed the English fleet safely west of lie d Ouessant, an island mu painted around 1702.
I R T Y W E A T H K R , A dm iral Sir Clowdisley Shovell called the fog that had

their horror that they had misgauged their position near the Scilly Isles. These tiny islands, about tw enly miles from the southwest tip o f England, point to Land s E n d like a path o f stepping-stones. A n d on that foggy night of O ctober 22, 1707, the Scillies became unm arked tombstones for almost two thousand o f Sir Clowdisley s troops. The flagship, the Aidociation, struck first- She sank w ithin minutes, drow ning all hands. Before the rest o f the vessels could react to the obvious danger, two more ships, the EagU and the Romney, pricked themselves on the rocks and w ent dow n like stones. In all, four warships were lost.

The Illustrated Longitude

O n ly two men washed ashore alive. O n e ot them was Sir Clowdisley himself, w ho m ay have watched the fifty-seven years o f his life flash before his eyes as the waves carried him home. Certainly he had time to reflect on the events of the previous twenty-four hours, w hen he made w hat must have been the worst mistake in judgm ent o f his naval career. He had been approached by a sailor, a member of the A w ew /w ns

In October 1707, a fleet of twenty one ships under the command of Sir Cbwduley Shoved returned from the Mediterranean after an unsuccessful attach on Toulon. Thejourney borne mu rough. By October 22, when the fleet',' panturn ua.< estimated to be Y,it oflie dOuessant (U.ihenton thu map), order,' were given to proceed into the Englub Channel. A< night fell, ignorant of the fate that lay ahead, the ship.' were driven by strong winds onto the Western Rocksouthwest of St. Agnes in the Scilly I.'le.i ( "Silly thu map). The location of the fleet uw not the only unknown: Thu map, printed thirteen years after the actidenl, shows the latitude of St. Agnes to befifty degrees; its actual location is about eight milesfurther south.

/<T

'The Sea Before Time

crew, w ho claimed to have kept his own reckoning o( the fleets location during the w hole cloudy passage. Such subversive navigation by an inferior was forbidden in the Royal Navy, as the unnam ed seaman well knew. However, the danger appeared so enormous, bv his calculations, that he risked his neck to make his concerns know n to the officers. A dm iral Shovell had the man hanged for m utiny on the spot. N o one was around to spil " I told y o u s o ! into S ir Clowdisley s face as he nearly drowned. But as soon as the adm iral collapsed on dry sand, a local wom an com bing the beach purportedly found his body and fell in love w ith the emerald ring on his finger. Between her desire and his depletion, she handily murdered him for it. Three decades later, on her deathbed, this same w om an confessed the crime to her clergyman, producing the ring as proof of her guilt and contrition.

At eight < 'clack on the mqht i>t ( h tth r 2'., Sir ChwtK'tey SbiHvir,' .hip, the Association, .'Iruck Ihe ivck.i of the Gibtone LeAje,' at the Stilly l*Lv iituKnink in four tmnidci* with do entire tvh of 6 50 men. 7wo other ship,} .ruttered the same fnle and a fourth oank. more Aowly. Only tuvnly^iA men wreoaivd; I, (yh peruhed. Thu* disaster, milted by errors in finding half? latitude and longitude, brought the longitude problem to the attention of the British Parliament.

The lllaolralei) Ijpngitude

The demise of Sir Clowdisley s fleet capped a long' saga of seafaring in the days before sailors could find their longitude. Page after page from this miserable history relates quintessential horror stories ol death by scurvy and thirst, of ghosts in the rigging, and ol landfalls in the form of shipwrecks, w ith hulls dashed on rocks and heaps ot drowned corpses fouling the beaches. In literally hundreds of instances, a vessels ignorance ot her longitude led swiftly to her destruction. Launched on a mix of bravery and greed, the sea captains of the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth centuries relied on dead reckoning to gauge their distance east or west of home port. The captain would throw a log overboard and observe how quickly the ship receded from this temporary guidepost. He noted the crude speedometer reading in his ships logbook, along with the direction of travel, w hich he took from the stars or a compass, and the length of time on a particular course, counted w ith a sandglass or a pocket watch. Factoring in the effects of ocean currents, fickle winds, and

Diotnnce traveled at ,va 'ii,< measured /'i; a hn; (a (Lit, trumqular-.ihapedpiece of uviid) attached to the cm) o( a knotted line. Beginning at sixty jeet from the lot}, knot, were tied aI regular intervals offifty-one feet. When the lag was ea.it over the side of the ship. the number of knot. counted tn a penoiI of thirty seconds (measured by a sandglass) khiuU indicate the speet) of the ship. Hence the term knot iivu adopted as the nautical measure of speed, 1 hi,<task required three people, one to hold the heavy reel, one to turn the sandglass, and one to count the knots.
A9

The lUiu'tniled Longitude w ounds failed to heal. Their legs swelled. They suffered the pain o f spontaneous hem orrhaging into their muscles and joints. Their gums bled, too, as their teeth loosened. They gasped tor breath, struggled against debilitating weakness, and when the blood vessels around their brains ruptured, they died. Beyond this potential for hum an suffering, the global ignorance of longitude wreaked economic havoc on the grandest scale. It confined oceangoing vessels to a few narrow shipping lanes that promised safe passage. Forced to navigate by latitude alone, w haling ships, merchant ships, warships, and pirate ships all clustered along well-trail icked routes, where they fell prey to one another. In 1592, for example, a squadron of six English men-of-war coasted off the Azores, lying in ambush for Spanish traders heading back from the Caribbean. The Aiadre de Deiu, an enormous Portuguese galleon returning from India, sailed into their web. Despite her thirty-two brass guns, the Madre de Deiu lost the brief battle, and Portugal lost a princely cargo. U nder the ships hatches lay chests of gold and silver coins, pearls, diamonds, amber, musk, tapestries, calico, and ebony. The spices had to be counted by the ton more than four hundred tons o f pepper, forty-five o f cloves, thirty-five o f cinnamon, and three each o f mace and nutmeg. The Aiadre de D eiu proved herself a prize w orth half a million pounds sterling or approximately hall the net value o f the entire English Exchequer at that date. By the end o f the seventeenth century, nearly three hundred ships a year sailed between the British Isles and the W est Indies to ply the Ja m a ic a trade. Since the sacrifice o f a single one o f these cargo vessels caused terrible losses, merchants yearned to avoid the inevitable. They wished to discover secret routes and that meant discovering a means to determine longitude. The pathetic state o f navigation alarmed Samuel Pepys, w ho served for a time as an official o f the R oyal Navy. Com m enting on his 1683 voyage to Tangiers, Pepys wrote: "It is most plain, from the confusion all these people are in. how to make good their reckonings, even each man's w ith itself, and the nonsensical arguments they w ould make use o f to do it, and disorder they are in about it, that it is by G o d s A lm ighty

The Sea Before Time

rounded the tip ot Cape Horn, a storm blew up from the west. Il shredded the sails and pitched the ship so violently that men w ho lost their holds were dashed to death. The stortn abated Irom time to time only to regather its strength, and punished the Centurion lor 111ty~eight days w ithout mercy. The winds carried rain, sleet, and snow. A nd scurvy all the while whittled away at the crew, killing six to ten men every day. Anson held west against this onslaught, more or less along the parallel at sixty degrees south latitude, until he figured he had gone a full two hundred miles westward, beyond Tierra del Kuego. The other ships ot his squadron had been separated from the Centurion in the storm, and some of them were lost forever. O n the first moonlit night he had seen in two months, Anson at last anticipated calm waters, and steered north lor the earthly paradise called J u a n Fernandez Island. There he knew he w ould hnd Iresh water lor his men, to soothe the dying and sustain the living. Until then, they w ould have to survive on hope alone, lor several days of sailing on the vast Pacilic still separated them Irom the island oasis. But as the haze cleared, Anson sighted laiu> right away, dead ahead. Il was Cape Noir, at the western edge of Tierra del Fuego. llow eoult) thu* have happened? Ila<) they been oiulunj in reverse! The lierce currents had thwarted Anson. All the time he thought he was gaining westward, he had been virtually treading water. So he had no choice but to head west again, then north toward salvation. He knew thal if he failed, and if the sailors continued dying at the same rate, there w ouldn't be enough hands left to man the rigging. According to the ship's log, on M a y 24, 1741, Anson at last delivered the Centurion to the latitude of J u a n Fernandez Island, at thirty-five degrees s^uth. All that remained to do was to run dow n the parallel to make harbor. B ut which way should he go? D id the island lie to the east or to the west of the Centurion's present position? That was any bo dy s guess. Anson guessed west, and so headed in that direction. Four more desperate days at sea, however, stripped him of the courage o f his conviction, and he turned the ship around.

The Sea Before Time

Forty-eight hours after the Centurion began beating east along the thirty-fifth parallel, land was sighted! But it showed itself to be the impermeable, Spanish-ruled, mountain-walled coast o f Chile. This jo lt required a one-hundred-eighty-degree change in direction, and in A nsons thinking. H e was forced to confess that he had probably been w ithin hours o f J u a n Fernandez Island w hen he abandoned west for east. O nce again, the ship had to retrace her course. O n J u n e 9, 17-41, the Centurion dropped anchor at last at J u a n Fernandez. The tw o weeks o f zigzag searching for the island had cost Anson an additional eighty lives. A ltho ug h he was an able navigator w ho could keep his ship at her proper depth and protect his crew from mass drow ning, his delays had given scurvy the upper hand. A nson helped carry the hammocks o f sick sailors ashore, then w atched helplessly as the scourge picked o ff his men one by one . . . by one by one, u n til more than half o f the original five hundred were dead and gone.

The original muswn of Anton s voyage was to capture a Spanish treasure qalLvn. On June 20,1743, the desperate crew of the Centurion sighted the sailing from Acapulco to Manila, an?, despite their inferior number, they overnhelmetf the Spanish after a short battle. The prize of this galleon amounted to almost 400,000, including 1,513,843pieces ofeight ant) 35,682 ounces of virgin stiver, one of the riehe, t prizes ever captured on the high seas.
Cobadonga, Nuestra Senora de

25

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O n e night 1 dreamed

\ was locked in m y Father s watch

W ith Ptolemy and twenty-one ruby stars M o u n te d on spheres and the Prim um M obile Coiled and gleaming to the end of space A n d the notched spheres eating each others rinds To the last tooth ot time, and the case closed. J O H N C IA R D 1 , " M v Fathers W atch"

S A D M IR A L S H O V E L L and Com m odore Anson showed, even the best sailors lost their bearings once they lost sight o f land, for the sea ottered no useful clue about Longitude. The sky, however, held out hope. Perhaps there was a w ay to read longitude in the relative positions of the celestial bodies. The sky turns day to night w ith a sunset, measures the passing m onths by the phases o f the moon, and marks each seasons change w ith a solstice or an equinox. The rotating, revolving Earth is a cog in a clockwork universe, and people have told time by its m otion since time began. W h e n m anners looked to the heavens for help w ith navigation, they found a com bination compass and clock. The constellations, especially the Little D ip pe r w ith the N o rth Star in its handle, showed them where they were going by night provided, of course, the skies were clear. By day, the sun not only gave direction but also told them the time if they followed its movements. So they watched it rise orange out of the ocean in the east, change to yellow and to b lin d ing white as it gained altitude, until at

Although not signed or dated, thit portrait <f Galileo (156~i1642) uw.i probablypainted iWii/i after 1610, the year in n'kii he discovered the nwtm,i of Jupiter. On January 7, 1610, about a month before hi.i forty-sixth birthday, Galileo observed three tiny bright stars"extending in a ttra ght linefrom one. ide of the planet to the other. By the eleventh, he had concluded that tbeje were momu wandering around Hie giant planet, tike the moon moi'e,i around the Earth. On the thirteenth, be observed a fourth moon, and soon after recognized that their regular orbit provided a eeL'.tlial clock that could be itjed to wive the longitude problem.

The Illustrated Longitude m idday the sun stopped in its tracks the way a ball tossed in the air pauses momentarily, poised between ascent and descent. That was the noon siren. They set their sandglasses by it every clear day. N ow all they needed was some astronomical event to tell them the time somewhere else. If, lor example, a total lunar eclipse was predicted for m idnight over M adrid, and sailors bound lor the W est Indies observed it at eleven oclock at night their time, then they were one hour earlier than M adrid, and therefore fifteen degrees of longitude west ot that city. Solar and lunar eclipses, however, occurred far too rarely to provide any meaningful aid to navigation. W ith luck, one could hope to get a longitude fix once a year by this technique. Sailors needed an everyday heavenly occurrence. As early as 1514, the G erm an astronomer Johann e s W erner struck on a w ay to use the m otion ol the moon as a location finder. The moon travels a distance roughly equal to its own w idth every hour. At night, it appears to w alk through the fields of fixed stars at this stately pace. In the daytime (and the moon is up in the daytime for halt of every m onth) it moves toward or away from the sun. W erner suggested that astronomers should m ap the positions o f the stars along the moon's path and predict w hen the moon w ould brush by each one on evety m oonlit night, m onth to m onth, lor years to come. Also the relative positions o f the sun and m oon through the daylight hours should be similarly m apped. Astronomers could then publish tables o f all the m o o n s meanderings, w ith the time o f each star meeting predicted for one place Berlin, perhaps, or N u re m b e rg whose longitude w ould serve as the zero-degree reference point. A rm ed w ith such inform ation, a navigator could compare the time he observed the m oon near a given star w ith the time the same conjunction was supposed to occur in the skies over the reference location. H e w ould then determine his longitude by finding the difference in hours between the two places, and m ultiplying that num ber by fifteen degrees. The m ain problem w ith this lunar distance m ethod was that the positions o f the stars, on w hich the w hole process depended, were not at all well know n. Then, too, no

Adrift in a Cbckuvrk Universe

from their vessels and certainly c ould n t hope to see them often enough or easily enough to rely on them for navigation. A fter all, it was never possible to view the hands o f the Ju p ite r clock during daylight hours, w hen the planet was either absent from the sky or overshadowed by the sun s light. N ighttim e observations could be carried on for only part o f the year, and then only w hen skies were clear. In spite o f these obvious difficulties, Galileo had designed a special navigation helmet for finding longitude with the Jovian satellites. The headgearthe celatom-Ax&s, been compared to a brass gas mask in appearance, w ith a telescope attached to one of the eyeholes. Through the emply eyehole, the observer s naked eye could locate the steady light o f Ju p ite r in the sky. The telescope afforded the other eye a look at the planets moons.

Galileo propivaJ lurng an eclipse of one ofJupiterdjatellilej to determine the tfcrenci in longitude between two placen. The edipx ofthebmcrmA.it MteUite (K behind Jupiter [J]) am beMen at precisely the ,t iw moment from point,) R and Q on Earth (dotted line,' T and V). If the observerat Q has tables to compare the time of the eclipje atpoint R with bit local tune, he canfind the difference in longitude betweenpoint) R (III [>AM.])and Q (X II [mSnight]). TbU three-hour time difference Agnifuj that Q i< forty-five degreed uwt ofpoint R.

Adrift in a Clockwork Universe

ABOVE In this diagram explaining bow Raemer determined the velocity oflight, J represents Jupiter and CBADH the orbit of the Earth around the sun (S). The distanceAB (one-sixth of the Earth orlnt, about sixty-one days) equal) SA, the distancefrom the sun to the Earth, which was estimated in the 1670s to he about 92 milium miks. Having observed that the eclipse ofthe innernuvt satellite at point 1 occurredabout eleven minutes sooner when the Earth was atpaint B than when it was atpoint A m ils orbit, Rnemer determined that light has a finite velocity and calculated that it travels 92 million miles m eleven minutes, or about NO,000 miles persecond. The current accepted value i,i IKS,282 miles (299,792km.) per second. LEFT Dressed in gown and hat to keep warm during a long, cold night of observing at his house in Copenhagen, Roemer is tuuig hit transit instrumenta telescope with a fixed mounting that he inventedto determine the exact moment a star or planet crossed his meridian. He timed these observations precisely, using the pendulum clack on the wall This it the type of long-pendulum cLicl designed and used by Chruitiaan Huygens.

The llliuitrated IjOngitude

The Royal Observatory at Greenwich in 1676, shown here from thesoutheast in a view looking toward London, woj built in 1675. A royal warrant stipulate) ds purpose was to perfect astrmwmy and nangaticm, and authorizedan expenditure of500for the purpose. The cost, which infact came to 5209j. Id., waJ covered by the sale ofold, decayedgunpowder.

the fixed Stars, so as to find out the so-much desired Longitude at Sea. for perfecting the art o f N avigation. In Flamsteed's own later account ol the turn of these events, he wrote that K ing Charles certainly did nor w ant his ship-owners and sailors to be deprived o f any help the Heavens could supply, whereby navigation could be made safer. Thus the founding philosophy o f the Royal Observatory, like that o f the Paris Observatory before it, viewed astronomy as a means to an end. All the far-(lung stars must be cataloged, so as to chart a course for sailors over the oceans o f the Earth. Commissioner W ren executed the design of the Royal Observatory. He set it, as the kings charter decreed, on the highest ground in Greenwich Park, complete with lodging rooms for Flamsteed and one assistant. Commissioner Hooke directed the actual building work, w hich got under way in J u ly of 1675 and consumed the better part of one year. Flamsteed took up residence the following M a y (in a b uilding still called Flamsteed House today) a n d collected enough instruments to get to w ork in earnest by October. 40 H e toiled at his task for more than four decades. The excellent star catalog he com piled

Adrift in a Clockwork Unuvrje was published posthum ously in 1725. By then, Sir Isaac N ew ton had begun to subdue the confusion over the m oons motion w ith his theory o f gravitation. This progress bolstered the dream that the heavens w ould one day reveal longitude. Meanwhile, far from the hilltop haunts of astronomers, craftsmen and clockmakers pursued an alternate path to a longitude solution. According to one hopeful dream of ideal navigation, the ships captain learned his longitude in the comfort oi his cabin, by comparing his pocket watch to a constant clock that told him the correct time at home port.

The Royal Ohvrmton/s "Camera Stelbita (Star Chamber), now called the Octagon Room, mu used for abservuiq comets, ocndtatuvu ofstand by the moon, and eclipses of the M il, the moon, and Jupiters satellites. The telescopes and other uistruments were mofed from window to mmhw as needed, and oLien'iitions were timed by the cloth.

&

i/v

w ^Bottle
There being no mystic communion of clocks it hardly matters when this autumn breeze wheeled down from the sun to make leaves skirt pavement like a million lemmings. An event is such a little piece o f time-and-space you can mail it through the slotted eye of a cat. D IA N E A C K E R M A N , Mystic Communion of Clocks"

I M E I S T O C L O C K as m ind is to brain. The clock or watch somehow contains

the time. A nd yet time refuses to be bottled up tike a genie stuffed in a lamp. W hether it flows as sand or turns on wheels w ithin wheels, time escapes irretrievably, w hile we watch. Even when the bulbs o f the hourglass shatter, w hen darkness w ithholds the shadow from the sundial, when the mainspring w inds dow n so far that the clock hands hold still as death, time itself keeps on. The most we can hope a watch to do is m ark that progress. A nd since time sets its own tempo, like a heartbeat or an ebb tide, timepieces d o n t really keep time. They just keep up with it, if theyre able. Some clock enthusiasts suspected that good timekeepers m ight suffice to solve the longitude problem, by enabling mariners to carry the home-port time aboard ship w ith them, like a barrel o f water or a side o f beef. Starting in 1530, Flemish astronomer G em m a Frisius hailed the mechanical clock as a contender in the effort to find longitude at sea.

Gemma Fruiiu (l~>08 .5.5) proposed the uka of using a mechanical timekeeper for finding iortgilud, in 1550, when he wa.<twenty-twoyearn old. In the right foreground of thi>portrait ( i'huh wan engraved in 1557, tm yearn after he diet)) if a uniivrnal ring dial, an ingenwuf device that he invented about 1552 forfinding local time at nea.

7he Illustrated LtUhjitinK' Huygenspublishedtbis ihifu ith} ot bispn'ptWi)flock for hmhng LvhjititA at sea in bis
H orol oil 1 u m Osi: 1 1 1 atorlu tri

of 16f \ a hook Iv A'thcdU 'tUo Isoui* A '/1." T h eclockto mountedingimbals anJhas a truuufiiLirpemhthun about c * t .\ afithi ijttiirUr inches long suspcnAt)ftvm cycloidalch ee k s. T h efW, ii'Inch Huygens haJ introthtccihii the Ibhfls iU K * becam ethesldtiAm)A stgti uset) forastnmount'd!clocko. has separaterings forinth \ w ting the boutminutes, ainK^ecom h. Despitenumerousattempts, Huygens iim ,*unable to o verco m ethethffiatitles ot making d reliabletimKiceimitc marine tim ekeeper. , L *a result, ntdtiyiincltuhfh} Isaac Xeu'ton) thought that the longdink
problem uvulc)new besolcet* i\ 'itba clock.

N ow a recognized authority on the subject, H iy g e n s published another book in 1665, the K i'i! Omh/wt/,1, his directions lor the use ot marine timekeepers. Subsequent voyages, however, exposed a certain limckiness in these machines. They seemed to require favorable weather to perlorm faithful^'. The swaying of the ship on a storm s waves confounded the normal swinging ot the pendulum . To circumvent this problem, Huygens invented the spiral balance spring as an alternative to the pendulum tor setting a clock's rate, and had it patented in France in 1675. O nce again, Huygens found him self under pressure to prove himselt the inventor ol a new advance in timekeeping, w hen he met a hot-blooded and headstrong competitor in the person o f Robert Hooke. Hooke had already made several memorable names tor himselt in science. As a AV biologist studying the microscopic structure of insect parts, bird feathers, and fish

S a u x /e r o fd u m fa z tfu iy
The College w ill the whole world measure; W hic h most impossible conclude, A nd Navigation make a pleasure By finding out the Longitude. Every Tarpaulin shall then w th ease Sayle any ship to the Antipodes. A N O N Y M O U S ( A b o u t 1660) Ballad o f Gresham College"

T THE

E N D O F T H E seventeenth century, even as members o f learned

William Wbiston (1667-1752), a graduate and Felloif of Clare College, Camlirulge, became Isaac A V iiton s assistant teelurer m ma thematics in 1701 and . ucitefefihim as Lucasian profes,w in 1705. He List thu< appointment seven \ /e a rs Liter, however, on account of bis fervent rttiquHu views. After moving to London, be tvorked with Humphry Ditlon (1675-1715) ofGbri ts Hospital on several schemes to solve the lot gttude problem. Althoughfailing to win the longitude prize, through persistence and boundless energy he mis awarded500 in 1741 to survey the chiefports and coasts of Great Britain.

societies debated the means to a longitude solution, countless cranks and opportunists published pamphlets to promulgate their own harebrained schemes (or finding longitude at sea. Surely the most colorful of the offbeat approaches was the w ounded dog theory, put forth in 1687. It was predicated on a quack cure called pow der o f sympathy. This miraculous powder, discovered in southern France by the dashing Sir Kenelm Digby, could purportedly heal at a distance. All one had to do to unleash its magic was to apply it to an article from the ailing person. A bit o f bandage from a w ound, for example, w hen sprinkled w ith pow der o f sympathy, w ould hasten the closing o f that w ound . Unfortunately, the cure was not painless, and Sir Kenelm was rumored to have made his patients ju m p by po w d ering for medicinal purposes the knives that had cut them, or by d ippin g their dressings into a solution o f the powder.

PiWtk'r o f Synipiitby
S ir Kenelm P ujl y (1 6 0 5 -6 7 ) uvz.i mi F.nqlih diplomat, a (tin ul Catholic, anil a .'launch n>yati.<l who escaped to France (hiring the FtujlL'h L ioit War. Dejpite h i' claim.' for the Powder of Sympathy, which no doubt originated from hi' interest in n.'troloi/y and alchemy, be became one of the original nicinbcro of the Royal Society and to oaid to have been the firot to explain the neccAuty of oxygen to the life of planto.

Powder oj Sympathy

intervening distance looks large, while from certain Pacific vantage points the two poles seem to overlap. (To make a model of this phenomenon, stick a whole clove into a navel orange, about an inch from the navel, and then rotate the orange slowly at eye level.) A chart could be d ra w n and m any were linking longitude to the observable distance between magnetic north and true north. This so-called magnetic variation method had one distinct advantage over all the astronomical approaches: It did not depend on know ing the time at two places at once or know ing w hen a predicted event w ould occur. N o time differences had to be established or subtracted from one another or m ultiplied by any num ber of degrees. The relative positions o f the magnetic pole and the Pole Star sufficed to give a longitude reading in degrees east or west. The method seemingly answered the dream o f laying legible longitude lines on the surface o f the globe, except that it was incomplete and inaccurate. Rare was the compass needle that pointed precisely north at all times; most displayed some degree of variation, and even the variation varied from one voyage to the next, m aking it tough to get precise measurements. W h a ts more, the results were further contam inated by the vagaries of terrestrial magnetism, the strength of w hich waxed or w aned w ith time in different regions o f the seas, as Edm ond H ailey found during a two-year voyage o f observation. In 1699, Samuel Fyler, the seventy-year-old rector of Stockton, in Wiltshire, E ngland, came up w ith a w ay to draw longitude meridians on the night sky. H e figured that he or someone else more versed in astronom y could identify discrete rows of stars, rising from the horizon to the apex o f the heavens. There should be twenty-four o f these star-spangled meridians, or one for each hour o f the day. Then it w ould be a simple matter, Fyler supposed, to prepare a m ap and timetable stating when each line w ould be visible over the Canary Islands, where the prime meridian lay by convention in those days. The sailor could observe the row o f stars above his head at local m idnight. I f it were the fourth, tor argum ent s sake, and his tables told him the first row should be over the Canaries just then, assuming he had some knowledge ol the time, he

O P P O S IT E ,Edmond Hatley published 1 1 /, isogonic chart of the Atlantic in 1701, after his voyage to the South Seas in the Paramore- The tines marking varum,' degrees of magnetic m riati cross the lines of latitude and therefore provide, in theory, the two coordinates required to determine the location oj a ship at m i . The amount of mai/netie variation shown by the variation compass would determine one coordinate, while the latitude, found by measuring the height oj the sun at noon, established the other. In practice, however, it was discovered that the Earth s magnetic fields change over time, and all attempts to predict the variation of the variation failed.

Powder of Sympathy

know n time o f the expected signal to the actual shipboard time when the signal was heard. In so doing, providing they factored in the speed o f propagation o f sound, they w ould discover their longitude. Unfortunately, when the men offered their brainchild to seafarers, they were told that sounds w ould not carry at sea reliably enough for accurate location finding. The plan might well have died then, had not W histon hit on the idea of com bining sound and light. If the proposed signal guns were loaded w ith cannon shells that shot more than a mile high into the air, and exploded there, sailors could time the delay between seeing the fireball and hearing its big bang m uch the w ay the weather wise gauge the distance o f electrical storms by counting the seconds elapsed between a flash o f lightning and a clap of thunder. W h iito n worried, of course, that bright lights might also falter when trying to deliver a time signal at sea. Thus he took special delight in w atching the fireworks display comm em orating the Thanksgiving D a y for the Peace, on J u ly 7, 1713. It convinced him that a well-timed bomb, exploding 6,440 feet in the air, w hich he figured was the limit o f available technology, could certainly be seen from a distance of 100 miles. Thus assured, he w orked w ith D itto n on an article that appeared the following week in The G uardian, laying out the necessaiy steps. First a new breed o f fleet must be dispatched and anchored at 600-mile intervals in the oceans. W histon and D itto n d id n t see any problem here, as they misjudged the length requirements for anchor chains. They stated the depth o f the N o rth Atlantic as 300 fathoms at its deepest point, w hen in fact the average depth is more like 2,000 fathoms, and the sea bottom occasionally dips dow n to more than 3,450. Where waters were too deep tor anchors to hold, the authors said, weights could be dropped through the currents to calmer realms, and would serve to immobilize the ships. In any case, they were confident these minor bugs could be worked out through trial and error. A meatier matter was the determination o f each h u lls position. The time signals must originate from places o f know n latitude and longitude. Eclipses of the moons of

Pmvder (> ! Sympathy

The hulls, the authors hoped, w ould be naturally exempt from all acts o f piracy or attack by w arring states. Indeed, they should receive legal protection from all trading nations: A nd it ought to be a great Crime w ith every one of them, it any other Ships either injure them, or endeavor to imitate their Explosions, for the Amusement and Deception of any. Critics were quick to point out that even if all the obvious obstacles could be overcome, not the least of w hich was the expense of such an undertaking, many more problems w ould still stand in the way. A cast ot thousands w ould be required to man the hulls. A nd these men w ould be worse off than lighthouse keepers lonely, at the mercy of the elements, possibly threatened by starvation, and hard pressed to stay sober. O n December 10, 1713, the W histon-Ditton proposal was published a second time, in The Englishm an. In 1714 it came out in book form, under the title A New A htbed for
D ucow rinq the Longitude both at Sea and Land. Despite their schemes insurm ountable

shortcomings, W histon and D itto n succeeded in pushing the longitude crisis to its resolution. By dint of their dogged determination and desire for public recognition, they united the shipping interests in London. In the spring o f 1714, they got up a petition signed by Captains of H e r M ajestys Ships, M erchants of London, and Com manders of Merchant-iVlen. This document, like a gauntlet throw n down on the floor of Parliament, demanded that the government pay attent'on to the longitude problem and hasten the day w hen longitude should cease to be a problem by offering rich rewards to anyone w ho could find longitude at sea accurately and practicably. The merchants and seamen called for a committee to consider the current state ot affairs. They requested a fund to support research and development of prom ising ideas. A nd they demanded a kin g s ransom for the author of the true solution.

6/

VsZ.C'

H er cutty sark, o Paisley liarn, That while a lassie she had worn, In longitude tho sorely scanty, It was her best, and she was vaunrie. R O B H R T B U R N S . "Tam o Shanter"

H E M E R C H A N T S A N D S E A M E N S petition pressing tor action on the matter of longitude arrived at W estm inster Palace in M a y o f 1714. In Ju n e , a Parliamentary committee assembled to respond to its challenge. U nder orders to act quickly, the committee members sought expert advice from Sir

Edmond Hailey (c. 16%-i742) batI a long and dutinguished career, bemq elected a Fellow oj the Royal Society in 1678. when be was twenty-tuo. and Siiving as astronomer royal from 1720 until bis death in 1742. Although he became a proponent of the lunar distance method, he had theforesujht to recognize that it ira.> not necessarily the only solution to the longitude problem, In I iyQ, hegave sound adcice to .John Harrison by encouraging bun to riut the famous London elockmaker George Graham and later, as a member of the Board of Longitude, offered Harruon but influential support. This portrait teas probably painted soon after 1687.

Isaac New ton, by then a grand old m an of seventy-two, and his friend E dm ond Hailey. H ailey had gone to the island of St. Helena some years earlier to m ap the stars o f the southern hemisphere virtually virgin territory on the landscape of the night. I Ialleys published catalog o f more than three hundred southern stars had w on him election to the Royal Society- He had also traveled far and w ide to measure magnetic variation, so he was well versed in longitude lore and personally immersed in the quest. N ew ton prepared written remarks for the committee members, w hich he read aloud to them, and also answered their questions, despite his mental fatigue that d a y H e summarized the existing means for determ ining longitude, saying that all of them were true in theoty b ut "difficult to execute. This was of course a gross understatement. Here, for example, is N e w to n s description o f the timekeeper approach:

'/'/v I t t n . i l r a t e d

L o in jiltu h -

The actual Longitude Act, issued in the reign ot O uccn Anne on J u ly iS, 1714, did all these things. O n the subject o( prize money, it named lirst-, second-, and third-prize amounts, as follows: 20,000 tor a method to determine longitude to an accuracy' ol hall a degree ol a great circle; 15,000 for a method accurate to w ithin two-thirds ot a degree: 10,000 lor a method accurate to w ithin one degree. Since one degree ol longitude spans sixty nautical miles (the equivalent ot sixtyeight geographical miles) over the surface ot the globe at the lu.juator. even a traction ot a degree translates into a large distance and consequently a great margin ot error when try ing to determine the whereabouts ot a ship vis-a-vis its destination. The fact that the government was w illing to award such huge sums for "Practicable and Usctul" methods that could miss the mark by many miles eloquently expresses the nation's desperation over navigations sorry state. The Longitude Act established a blue ribbon panel ol judges that became know n as the Board of Longitude. This board, w hich consisted ot scientists, naval officers, and governm ent officials, exercised discretion over the distribution ol the prize money. The astronom er royal served as an ex officio member, as did the president of the Royal Society, the lirst lord ol the Adm iralty, the speaker ot the House of Com m ons, the first commissioner ot the Navy, and the Savilian, Lucasian, and Plum ian professors of mathematics at O x ford and Cam bridge Universities. (N ew ton, a Cam bridge man, had held the Lucasian professorship for thirty years; in 1714 he was president o f the Royal Society.) The board, according to the Longitude Act, could give incentive awards to help impoverished inventors bring prom ising ideas to fruition. This power over purse strings made the Board o f I^ongitude perhaps the w orld s first official research-anddevelopment agency. (Though none could have foreseen it at the outset, the Board o f

Longitude was to remain in existcncc for more than one hundred years. By the time t finally dishanded in 1828, it had disbursed funds in excess ol 100.000.) In order for the commissioners of longitude to pudge the actual accuracy of any proposal, the technique had to be tested on one of H er .Majestys ships, as it sailed "over the ocean, from Great Britain to any such Port in the West Indies as those Commissioners Choose ... w ithout losing their Longitude beyond the limits before m entioned. So-called solutions to the longitude problem had been a dime a dozen even before the act went into effect. After 1/ M , with their potential value exponentially raised, such schemes proliferated. In time, the board was literally besieged b \ anv num ber ot conniving and well-meaning persons w ho had heard w ord ol the prize and w anted to w in it. Some of these hopeful contenders were so galvanized by greed that they never stopped to consider the conditions ol the contest. Thus the board received ideas for im proving ships rudders, tor purifying drinking water at sea, and lor perfecting special sails to be used in storms. O ver the course of its long history, the board received all too many blueprints tor perpetual motion machines and proposals that purported to square the circle or make sense ol the value ol pi. In the wake of the Longitude Act, the concept o f "discovering the longitude became a synonym for attempting the impossible. Longitude came u p so com m only as a topic ot conversation- and the butt o f jokes that it rooted itself in the literature of the age. In Gttlh\'er\* 1'raveh, lor example, the good Captain Lemuel Gulliver, when asked to imagine himself as an im m ortal Struldbrugg, anticipates the enjoyment of witnessing the return ot various comets, the lessening o f mighty rivers into shallow brooks, and "the discover)' of the longitude, the perpetual motion, the itnnvr.m l medicine, and m any other great inventions brought to the utm ost perfection. Part o f the sport ot tackling the longitude problem entailed ridiculing others in the competition. A pamphleteer w ho signed himself R .B . said of M r. W histon, the fireball proponent, [I]f he has any such T hing as Brains, they are really crackt.

The M ush'tiltx) Longitude had considered this problem at great length w hen testing his chronometer. In tact, the proposal he submitted to the longitude board contained his carelul records of the chronom eters rate at various temperature readings, along w ith a sliding scale showing the range o f error (hat could be expected at diilerent temperatures. A m ariner using the chronometer w ould simply have to weigh the time shown on the clocks dial against the height ol the mercury in the thermometer tube, and make the necessary

calculations. This is where the plan Falls apart: Someone w ould have to keep constant w atch over the chronometer, noting all changes in am bient temperature and figuring them into the longitude reading. Then, too, even under ideal circumstances, Thacker owned that his chronometer occasionally erred by as m any as six seconds a day. Six seconds sound like nothing compared to the lilteen minutes routinely lost by earlier clocks. W h y split hairs? Because of the consequences and the m oney involved. To prove w orthy o f the 20,000 prize, a clock had to find longitude w ithin h a lf a degree. This meant that it could not lose or gain more than three seconds in twentyfour hours. Arithm etic makes the point: Half a degree of longitude equals two minutes o f tim e the m axim um allowable mistake over the course of a six-week voyage from E ngland to the Caribbean. An error of only three seconds a day, com pounded every day at sea for forty days, adds up to two minutes by journeys end. T hackers pam phlet, the best of the lot reviewed by members of the Board of Longitude during their first year, d id n t raise anyones hopes very high. So much remained to be done. A nd so little had actually been accomplished. N ew ton grew impatient. It was clear to him now that any hope of settling the longitude matter lay in the stars. The lunar distance method that had been proposed several times over preceding centuries gained credence and adherents as the science o f astronomy improved. Thanks to N e w ton s own efforts in form ulating the Universal Law o f Gravitation, the m o o n s motion was better understood and to some extent predictable. Yet the w orld was still w aiting on Flamsteed to finish surveying the stars.

The Prize
Flamsteed, meticulous to a laull, had spent fort) years m apping lhe heavens and had still nol released his data. He kept it all under seal at Greenwich. N ew ton and 11 alley managed to get hold ol most ol Flamsteeds records from the Royal

Observatory, and published their ow n pirated edition of his star catalog in 1712. Flamsteed retaliated by collecting three hundred ol the lour hundred printed copies, and burning them. "1 committed them to the Ere about a fortnight ago, Flamsieed wrote to his former observing assistant Abraham Sharp. "If S ir I, N. w ould be sensible ol it, I have done both him and Dr. Hailey a very great kindness." In other words, the published positions, insufficiently verified as they were, could only discredit a respectable astronomei s reputation. Despite the flap over the premature star catalog, N ew ton continued to believe that the regular motions of the clockwork universe w ould prevail in guiding ships at sea. A man-made clock w ould certainly prove a useful acccssory to astronomical reckoning but could never stand in its stead. After seven \ears ol service on the Board ol Longitude, in 1/21, Newton wrote these impressions in a letter to Jo siah Burchett, the secretary ol the Admiralty: A good watch may serve to keep a recconing at Sea for some days and to know the time of a celestial Observ[at]ion: and for this end a good Jew el watch may suffice till a better sort of W atch can be found out. But when the Longitude at sea is once lost, it cannot be found again by any vvatch. N ew ton died in 172/, and therefore did not live to see the great longitude prize awarded at last, four decades later, to the self-educated maker of an oversi/ed pocket watch.

7*?

O li! She was perfect, past all parallelO t any modern female saint's comparison; So lar above the cunning powers ot hell. Her guardian angel had given up his garrison; Even her minutest motions went as well As those of the best time-piece made by Harrison. L O R D B Y R O N , "D o n J u a n "

LIT T LE I S K N O W N of the early life of J o h n H a rrison that his biogra

This movement Ivlontjs to John Harrison s fir-t longcase dock, completed in h l> when he 11*1,1 twenty. Because Harrison na.' trained as a joiner he modified the standard dettgn of a grandfather clock movement so that it could be constructed of wood, hugely oak and boxwood. Brass and steel were it.<ed only where necessary, the former for the escape wheel and the bearings (set into the plates), and the latter for the pivots and the escapement. The clock, which struck every hour, was wound by removing the spandrels beneath the dial and inserting a geared winding key, which meshed with a gear mounted on the winding barrel.

phers have had to spin the few ihtn facts into whole cloth. These highlights, however, retail such stirring elements in the lives of other legendary men that they give H arrisons story a leg up bor instance, Harrison edu cated himself w ith the same hunger for knowledge thal kept y o u n g A braham Lincoln reading through the night by candlelight. H e went from, if not rags, then assuredly hum ble beginnings to riches by virtue of his own inventiveness and diligence, in the m anner o f Thomas Edison or Benjam in Franklin. A nd, at the risk of overstretching the metaphor, Harrison started out as a carpenter, spending the first thirty years of his life in virtual anonym ity before his ideas began to attract the world's attention. J o h n Longitude Harrison was born M arch 24, 1693, in the county of Yorkshire, the eldest o f five ch Idren. His family, in keeping w ith the custom of the tune, dealt out names so parsimoniously that it is impossible to keep track of all the Henrys, Jo h n s, and Elizabeths w ithout pencil and paper. To w it, J o h n Harrison served as the son,

The I lino trata) I mi]thti\f

O l lOSl I I John fla m .*on uM i* horn in I'oulbv near If tifkt'iit'ifh Yorkobirt', am* /hip/1;/'Aw ,1 larch >L iOV > . ///. father a carpenter. probably employed on I hi nearby rotate, A ootell /V/i>rv C .kf* "lo ir by am* Xootrtf Priory "on top in.'tt map). ,'lriUitnt / 7thl the family tnoi'r^ forty ~ t\ o otittle.* th/r raot to thetnall village of Harrow' upon I lumber in Lincolnshire, three tutleo from the market /.mv/ of Harton upon I lumber, whieb, by lb? poof roat*obown on thio // map, ,rao ft)I tndeo north of LotuKm. Hull, the fbtrj lanjeot oeaport in hniflanif at that tints, to otfualt'^ about ftm ' mife.i north i / Harrow, arrooo the litter Humber.

grandson, brother, and uncle ol one Henry Harrison or another, while his mother, his sister, both his wives, his only daughter, anil two o) his three daughters-in~la\v all answered to the name Khzabeth. His first home seems to have been on the estate, called Nostell Priory, oi a rich landowner who employed the elder I larnson as a carpenter and custodian. Karly in J o h n s life perhaps around his fourth birthday, not later than his seventh the family

moved, tor reasons unknow n. Ior ty-two miles away to the small Lincolnshire village ol Barrow, also called Barrow upon 1lum ber because it sat on the south bank ol that river. In Barrow, y oung .John learned w oodw orking from his lather. No one knows w here he learned music, but he played the viol, rang and tuned the c hurch bells, and eventually look over as choirmaster at the Barrow parish church. (A lanv years later* as an adjunct to the 1775 publication explaining his timekeepers, A ! hw nptnm

Ctmctn u iitj Stub Jh\hanL*m . . . , Harrison w ould expound his radical theory on the

musical scale.) Somehow, J o h n as a teenager let it be know n that he craved book learning. I le may have said as much aloud, or perhaps his fascination lor the way things work burned in his eves so brightly that others could see it. In anv case, in about 1712, a clergyman visiting the parish encouraged J o h n s curiosity by letting him borrow a treasured textbook a manuscript copy ol a lecture series on natural philosophy delivered by mathematician Nicholas Saunderson at Cam bridge University. By the time this book reached his hands, J o h n Harrison had alrea y mastered reading and w riting, lie applied both skills to Saunderson s work, m aking his own annotated copy, which he headed A \ r. Saundersons Alecham cks. He wrote out

every word and drew and labeled every diagram, the better to understand the nature of the laws ol motion. He pored over this copybook again and again, in the manner of a biblical scholar, continuing to add his own marginal notes and later insights over the next several years. The handw riting throughout appears neat and small and regular, as
/( * '

one m ight expect Irom a man o f methodical mind.

Coijm iika'li Journal

equivalent of marbles in the mouth, iN'o matter how brilliantly ideas formed in his m ind, or crystallized in his clockworks, bis verbal descriptions tailed to shine with the same light. ] hs last published work, w hich outlines the whole history of his unsavory dealings w ith the Board of Longitude, brings his style o f endless circumlocution to its peak. The lirst sentence runs on, virtually unpunctuated, for twentv-five pages. Forthright in his personal encounters. Harrison proposed marriage to Elizabeth Barrel, and she became his wife on August 30, 1718. Their son, Jo h n , was born the lollowing summer. Then Llizabeth tell ill and died in the spring before the bov turned seven. The dearth ol detail regarding the widowers private hte at this luncture comes as no surprise, tor he left no diaries or letters describing his activities or his angst. Nevertheless, the parish records show that he found a new bride, ten years younger, with n six months ot Elizabeths death. Harrison wed his second wife, Elizabeth Scott, on November 23, 1726. At the start of their fifty years together they had two children W illiam, born in 1728, who was to become his father s champion and right-hand man, and Elizabeth, born in 1732, about whom nothing is know n save the date ot her baptism, December 21. Jo h n , the child of Harrison's first marriage, died when he was only eighteen. N o one knows when or how Harrison first heard word ot the longitude prize. Some say that the nearby port of I lull, just five miles north o f H arrison s home and the third largest port in England, w ould have been abuzz with the news. From there, anv seaman or merchant could have carried the announcement downstream across the 1lum ber on the ferry. O ne w ould imagine that Harrison grew up well aware of the longitude problem just as any alert schoolchild nowadays knows that cancer cries out for a cure and that theres no good way to get rid of nuclear waste. Longitude posed the great technological challenge o f H arn ion's age. H e seems to have begun thinking of a way to tell time and longitude at sea even before Parliament promised any reward tor doing so or at least before he learned of the posted reward. In any case, whether or not his thoughts favored longitude, 1 larrison kept busy w ith tasks that prepared his mind to solve the problem.

/T O
& & tfr J ie a /
0
W here in this small-talking world can I hnd A longitude w ith no platitude?

CHRIS r o il 1 ER FRY.

T he L

AW fo r

B ttrniinj

HEN

JO H N

H A R R IS O N

A R R IV E D

in London in the sum m er of

John Harrisons Hr,< t m arine timekeeper, kiuwn as //-/. has four AilLi inihcatuu/ serfmb ill the top, minutes flu the Lit. homy on the rujht, atu) the Am ot the month at the bottom. Thi' thick, which standi Jti.it oeer tuvfeet tall am>took five years to make, iivj.i completed m

1730, the Board ol Longitude was nowhere to be found. A lthough that august body had been in existence tor more than fifteen years, it occu

pied no official headquarters. In fact, it had never met. So indifferent and mediocre were the proposals submitted to the board, that in d i vidual commissioners had simply sent out letters o f rejection to the hopeful inventors. N o t a single suggested solution had held enough promise to inspire any five commis sioners the m inim um required by the Longitude Act for a quorum to bother gath ering together for a serious discussion of the m ethods merits. H arrison, however, knew the identity o f one o f the most famous members o f the Board o f L o n g itu d e the great Dr. E d m ond H aile y and he headed straight for the Royal O bservatory at Greenw ich to find him . H ailey had become E nglands second astronomer royal in 1720, after J o h n

175i.

Flamsteeds death. The puritanical Flamsteed had reason to roll over in his grave at this development, since in life he had denounced Hailey for drinking brandy and swearing

T h e U l u . ' l r a l t d l ^ m i j i t u d c

Bu It ol brightly shining brass, w ith rods and balances sticking out at odd angles, its broad bottom and tall projections recall some ancient vessel that never existed. It looks like cross between a galley and a galleon, with a high, ornate stern facing lorward, two

towering masts that c a n y no sails., and knobbed brass oars to be manned by tiers oi unseen rowers. It is a model ship, escaped Irom its bottle, alloat on the sea ol tune. The numbered dials on H-l 's lace o b i lously tie it to the telling ol tune: O ne dial marks the hours, another counts the minutes, a third ticks oil the seconds, and the last denotes the days ot the month. Yet the look ot the whole contrivance, lairly bristling with complexity, suggests that it must be something more than just a perfect time keeper. The large coiled springs and unfam iliar machinery tempt one to try to com mandeer the thing and rule it into another era. No lancitul movie about time travel, despite the best eflorts ol H ollyw ood set design, ever presented a time machine as convincing as this one. The Harrisons housed H -l, which weighs seventy-five pounds, in a glazed cabinet four feet in even' dimension high, wide, and deep. The case may have hidden the w hirligig aspects ot the timepiece. Perhaps only the lace, w ith its tour dials sur rounded by eight carved cherubs and four crowns in a tangle o f serpentine ropes or leafless vines, showed from the outside. However, the cabinet, like the cases of I Iarrisons early clocks, has been lost, exposing the works to general scrutiny. H~1 now lives and works (w ith daily w inding) in an armored-glass box at the N ational M aritim e M useum in Greenwich, where it still runs gamely in all its friction-free glory, m uch to the delight o f visitors. The decorated face clashes w ith the skeletal works the way a well-dressed w om an m ight look il she stood behind an im aging screen that bared her beating heart. Even at the start of its long career, H-I constituted a study in contrasts. It was ot its age but ahead o f its time, and when it came along, the w orld was already weary of w aiting for it. A lthough H-f did w hat it set out to do, it performed so singularly that
) {(>

people were perplexed by its success.

The Il!tt,iitih d Lniii/ituA'

'Fhe Harrison brothers took 11 1 out tor trial runs on a barge on the Ri\cr Humber. Then J o h n carried it to London in 1/35, and delivered on his promise to George Graham. Aluch pleased. G raham showed the wonderful sea clock not to the Hoard ol

Ix>ngiiuck* bui to the Royal Society, w ho gave it a hero's welcome. Concurring with Or. I lalley and direr other equally impressed Fellows ol lhe Sociely, G raham wrote this endorsement ol 11-1 and its maker: J o h n Harrison, having with great labour and expense, contrived and executed a .Machine for measuring time at sea, upon such Principle, as seem to us to Promise a very great and sufficient degree ol Exactness. We are of O pin ion, il highly deserves Public Encouragement, In order to a thorough Try a I and Improvement, of the severall Contrivances, for preventing those Irregularitves in time, that naturally arise from the dillerent degrees of Heat and Cold, a inoist and drye Temperature of the Air, and the Various Agitations ol the ship. Despite the hoopla, the Admiralty dragged its feet For a year in arranging the trial. Then, instead of sending H-l to the West Indies, as the Longitude Act required, the adm i rals ordered Harrison to take his clock down to Spithead and board H.iW.S. Centurion, bound for Lisbon. The First Lord of the Admiralty, Sir Charles Wager, sent the following letter ol introduction to Captain Proctor, commander of the Centurion, on A lav H , 1736: Sir, The Instrum ent w hich is p u t on Board y o u r Ship, has been approved by all the M athem aticians in Town that have seen it, (and few have not) to be the Best that has been made lor measuring Time; how it will succeed at Sea, you w ill be a Ju d g e ; I have w rit to Sir J o h n Norris, to desire him to send home the Instrum ent and the M aker o f it (w ho 1 think y o u have w ith y ou) by the lirsl Ship that comes . . . [T]he A lan is said b3' those w ho know him best, to be a very ingenious and sober Alan, and capable ol finding out something more than he has already, if he can find Encouragement; I desire therefore, that y o u will let the M a n be used civilly, and that y ou w i II be as kind to him as you can.

7/v Gra.i.ihopper
Captain Proctor wrote back right away to say,

l< >Scti

[T|he Instrum ent is placed in my C abbin, for giving the Alan all the Advantage that is possible lor m aking his Observations, and I find him to be a very sober, a very industrious, and withal a very modest Alan, so that mv good \ Yishes can't blit attend linn: but the D ifficulty of measuring Time trulv, where so many unequal Shocks, and Motions, stand in O pposition to it, gives me concern lor the honest Alan, and makes me fear he has attempted Impossibilities: but Sir, I w ill do him all the Good, and give him all the Help, that is in my Power, and acquaint him with y ou r Concern for his Succcss. and y o u r Care that he shall be well treated . . . Proctor needn't have worried about the performance of Harrison's machine. It was the m a n s stomach that gave him grief. The rough crossing kept the clockmaker hang ing over the rail much of the time, when he w asnt in the captains cabin, tending his timekeeper. W hat a pity Harrison co uld n t fit his own insides with the two dum bbell shaped bar balances and four helical btilance springs that helped ! I~I keep its equa nim ity throughout the journey. Alercilully, the strong w inds blew the Centurion swiftly to Lisbon w ithin one week. The good Captain Proctor died suddenly as soon as the ship reached harbor, before hed written up any account of the voyage in his log. O n ly four days later, Roger W ills, master of H.A1.S. OrforcK received instructions to sail Harrison back to England. The weather, which W ills recorded as "very mixed w ith gales and calms, made for a m onthlong voyage home. W h e n the ship neared land at last, W ills assumed it to be the Start, a well-known point on the south coast around D artm outh. That was where his reckoning placed the ship. H arrison, however, going by his sea clock, countered that the land sighted must be the Lizard on the Penzance peninsula, more than sixty miles west of the Start. A nd so it was. ..V9

/ / '< GrtUKboppcr Gih \ i

Srii

Royal Society. Or. Smith even shared Harrison's interest in music and had his own odd views on the musical scale. Sir Hans Sloanc, president ol the Roval Societv, roundeil out the scientific representation at the meeting', l he other two board m em bers, unknow n to Harrison, were the Right H onorable A rthur Onslow , speaker of the 1 louse o l Com mons, and Lord Alonson. commissioner of Lands and Plantations, w ho reflected the b o ards political clout. Harrison had everything to gain. He stood there w ith his prized possession, belore a group ot professionals and politicians predisposed to be proud of w hat hed done for king and country. He had every right to dem and a West Indies trial, to prove 11-1 deserving of the 20.000 promised in the Longitude Act. But he was too much ot a perfectionist to do it. Instead, Harrison pointed out the foibles ol 11-1. lie was the only person in the room to say anything at all critical of the sea clock, w hich had not erred more than a few seconds in twenty-tour hours to or from Lisbon on the trial run. Still, Harrison said it showed some 'defects" that he w anted to correct. H e conceded he needed to do a bit more tinkering with the mechanism. 1le could also make the clock a lot smaller, he thought. W ith another two years' w ork, it the board could see its w ay clear to advancing him some funds for further development, he could produce another time keeper. A n even better timekeeper. And then he w ould come back to the hoard and request an official trial on a \ovage to the West Indies. But not now. The board gave its stamp of approval to an otter it couldn't refuse. As tor the 500 H arrison wanted as seed money, the board promised to pay half o f it as soon as possi ble. Harrison could claim the other half once he had turned over the finished product to a ships captain o f the Royal Navy, ready for a road test. At that point, according to the agreement recorded in the minutes of the meeting, Harrison w ould either accom pany the new timekeeper to the W est Indies himself, or appoint "some proper Person to go in his stead. (Perhaps the commissioners had heard tell ot H arrisons seasickness and were already m aking allowances tor him .)
fO /

H anA ' on Heaven ,i C'iivk

the eighth part of a circle; others preferred the name reflecting quadrant, pointing out th at the m achines mirrors doubled its capacity. By any name, the instrument soon helped sailors find their latitude an<> longitude. O ld e r instruments, from the astrolabe to the cross-staff to the backstaff, had been used for centuries to determine latitude and local time by gauging the height ol the sun or a given star above the horizon. But now, thanks to a trick done w ith paired mirrors, the new reflecting quadrant allowed direct measurement of the elevations ol tw o celestial bodies, as well as the distances between them. Even if the ship pitched and rolled, the objects in the navigator's sights retained their relative positions vis-avis one another. The quadrant quickly evolved into an even more accurate device, called a sextant, w hich incorporated a telescope and a wider m easuring arc. These additions permitted the precise determination o f the ever-changing, telltale distances between the moon and the sun during daylight hours, or between the m oon and stars alter dark. W ith detailed star charts and a trusty instrument, a good navigator could now stand on the deck ol his ship and measure the lunar distances. (Actually, m any of the more careful navigators sat, the better to steady themselves, and the real sticklers lay dow n flat on their backs.) Next he consulted a table that listed the angular distances between the m oon and numerous celestial objects for various hours o f the day. as they w ould be observed from London or Pans. (As their name implies, angular distances are expressed in degrees of arc; they describe the size o f the angle created by t wo lines o f sight, running from the observer's eye to the pair of objects in question.) He then compared the time when he saw the m oon thirty degrees away from the star Regulus, say, in the heart of Leo the Lion, w ith the time that particular position had been pre dicted for the home port. If, for example, this navigator's observation occurred at one o clock in the morning, local time, w hen the tables called tor the same configuration over L ondon at 4 A.JV1., then the ship's time was three hours earlier and the ship itself, therefore, at longitude forty-five degrees west o f London.
/Q 9

T h e lllti.ttra h -J

"I say. O ld Bov. do you smoke?

a brazen sun asked of die moon in an old English the skittish

log book cartoon poriraying' die lunar distance method. "iVo, vou brute, moon replied. Keep y o ur distance!

Hadleys quadrant capitalized on the work ol astronomers, who had cemented the positions of the fixed stars on the celestial clock dial. Jo h n Flamsteed alone personally donated some forty man-years to the monumental effort of mapping the heavens. As the first astronomer royal, Flamsteed conducted 30.000 individual observations, all dutifully recorded and confirmed with telescopes he built himself or bought at his own expense. Mamsteed's finished star catalog tripled the number of entries in the sky atlas Tycho Brahe had compiled at Uramborg in Denmark, and improved the precision of the census bv sev eral orders ol magnitude. Limited as he was to the skies over Greenwich. Flamsteed was glad to see the flambovani Edm ond 1lallev take oil lor the South Atlantic in Ifo/b, right after the founding of the Royal Observatory. 1killey set up a mini-Greenwich on the island ol St. I Ielena. It was the right place but the wrong atmosphere, and Hailey counted only o-l 1 new stars through I lie haze. Nevertheless, this achievement earned him a flattering reputation as "the southern Tvcho." D u rin g his own tenure as astronomer royal, from 1720 to 17-12, Hailey studiously tracked the moon. The m apping ol the heavens, after all. was merely a prelude to the more challenging problem ol charting the m oons course through the lields ol stars. The moon follows an irregular elliptical orbit around the Earth, so that the moon s distance Irom the l arth and relation to the background stars is in constant flux. W h a ts more, since the m oons orbital motion varies cyclically over an eighteen-year period, eighteen years' worth ol data constitute the bare m inim um groundw ork lor any ineaninglul predictions ol the m oons position. Hailey not only observed the moon day and night, to reveal the intricacics of her motions, he also pored through ancient eclipse records for clues about her past. Any
//(>

and all data regarding lunar orbital motions might be grist lor creating the tables navi-

Ila iuh on Heaven's Clock their ow n life exp ( . t i c net.'

w ith

sea and sky. By the late 1750s the technique finally

This sextant i> t lifteen-inch nuhum ath' by .Je.ve Ram.'den, L o n d o n ,17/2, one ot the Roan) off^uuiitude instruments reputed to hiwe been used aboard the
D isco ve ry on Captain

looked practicable, thanks to the cumulative eltorts o f the m any contributors to this large-scale international enterprise. In comparison, J o h n Harrison ottered the w orld a little ticking thing in a box. Preposterous! W orse, this device ot H arrisons had all the complexity ol the longitude problem already hardwired into its works. The user d id n t have to master math or astronomy or gain experience to make it go. Som ething unseemly attended the sea clock, in the eves ol scientists and celestial navigiitors. Som ething facile. Som ething flukish. In an earlier era, Harrison might have been accused of w itchcraft tor proposing such a magic-box solution. As it was. Harrison stood alone against the vested navigational interests of the scientihc establishment. He became entrenched in this position by virtue o f his own high standards and the high degree ot skepticism expressed by his opponents. Instead ot the accolades he m ight have expected for his achievements, he was to be subjected to many unpleasant trials that began after the completion ot his masterpiece, the lourth timekeeper, H--4, in 1/59.

Cooks third eoyage. The .'extant, so called because it.> frame describes one-sixth sf a eirele, uvi,i developed from the octant specifically tor the purpose ol niakin I lunar distance measurement. Made entirely of bras,', it
ii'ith a hm,> fitted

tele.vope and

accommodated on its /20degree scale a vernier, allouing reudingo accurate to one minute ofare.

Trail by F in atu) Water Finally, in M arch o f 1764, W illiam and his friend Thomas W yatt boarded H .M .S .
T artar and sailed to Barbados w ith H-4. The T artar's captain. Sir J o h n Lindsay, over

saw this first phase of the second trial, and monitored the handling ol the W atch on the w ay to the West Indies. A rriving ashore on M a y 15, prepared to compare notes w ith the board-appointed astronomers w ho had preceded him to the island aboard the
P rin ce s Louisa, W illiam found a fam iliar face. There at the observatory, standing ready

to judge the performance of the W atch, was Nathaniel Blisss handpicked henchman, none other than the Reverend Nevil Maskelvne. Alaskelyne was undergoing something of a second trial himself, he had complained to the locals. His lunar distance method had clearly shown itself the supreme solution to the longitude problem on the voyage to St. Helena. A nd this time, en route to Barbados, he boasted, he was sure hed clinched the case and secured the prize. W h en W illia m heard w ord of these claims, he and C aptain Lindsay challenged Alaskelyne's fitness to judge H-4 impartially. Alaskelyne was outraged by their accu sations. H e became hufly, then nervous. In his disquieted condition, he botched the astronomical observations even though all those present recalled there w asnt a cloud in the sky.

* i9

1 Iv llltt.itrated Litmjilitdc

Although he cleaned 111 first, he restored it Iasi. This turaed out 10 be a gootl dung, since H-l was missing so many pieces that G ould needed the experience ot exploring the others before he could handle H-l with confidence: "There were no mainspi ings, no mainspring-barrels. no chains, no escapements, no balance-springs. no bankingsprings, and no w inding gear . . . Five out ol the twenty-four anti-ii iction wheels had vanished. M any parts of the complicated gridiron compensation were missing, and most ol the others defective. The seconds-hand was gone anti the hour-hand craiked. As lor the small parts pins, screws, etc. scarcely one in ten remained."

The symmetry ol 11-1, however, and G o u ld s own determination, allowed him to duplicate m any absent parts Irom their surviving counterparts. Th e worst job was the last," he confessed, 'adjusting the little steel check-pieces on the balance-springs; a process which I can only describe as like trying to thread a needle stuck into the tailboard ot a motor-lorry w hich you are chasing on a b cycle. I finished this, w ith a gale lashing the rain on to the windows ot my garret, about 4 P.iM. on February 1st, 1933 and live minutes later No. 1 had begun to go again lor the first time since J u n e 1/th, 1767: an interval ol 165years. Thanks to G o u ld s efforts, the clock is still going now, in the observatory gallery. The restored timepieces constitute J o h n H arrisons enduring memorial, just as St. Paul's Cathedral serves as m onum ent to Christopher W ren. A lthough H arrisons actual remains are entombed some miles northwest ol Greenwich, in the cemetery ol St. J o h n s Church, Ham pstead, where his wife, the second Elizabeth, and his son, W illiam , lie buried w ith him, his m ind and heart are here. The M a n tim e iMuseum curator w ho now' cares for the sea clocks refers to them reverently as "the H arrisons, as though they were a family ol people instead of things. He dons white gloves to unlock their exhibit boxes and w ind them, early every morning, before the visitors arrive. Each lock admits two different keys that w ork in concert, as on a modern safe deposit box and reminiscent ot the shared-key safeguards that prevailed in the clock trials o f the eighteenth century.

The /llti.'lm lct) I,i

hardly keep her hands oil the small television screen, although her lather, when he caught her at this, pulled them away. W ith his permission, 1 asked her what it was she liked so much about the film. "I don't k now , she answ ered. I just like it." I liked it, too. I liked the w ay the rocking, interconnected components kept their steady beat, even as the cartoon clock tilted to clim b up and then slide dow n the shaded waves. A visual synecdoche, this clock came to life not only as the true time but also as a ship at sea, sailing mile after nautical mile over the bounding time zones. W ith his marine clocks. J o h n Harrison tested the waters ol space-time. He suc ceeded, against all odds, in using the lourlh temporal dimension to link points on the three-dimensional globe. He wrested the w orld s whereabouts Irom the stars, and locked the secret in a pockei watch.

2 /0

Illustration sources and credits

W CC Bridgeniiuv Courtesy ol the Worshipful Company ol Clockmakers, 1 London/Bridgeman A n Library. 1,-ondon Houghton - By permission ol the i lougluon Library. Harvard University NMAl -CourtL-sv oi the National .Maritime Museum. Greenwich. London NPG - Courtesy ol the National Portrait Gallery. I^ondon KS - By penmssKin ot the Fresit lent and Council oi the Ro\al Society. l^ontJon TM - Courte.nrol The Time Museum, Rocklord, Illinois p,i see credit lor p. 1 17; p,ii see credits lor pp.5f> and 150; p.v Irom top. see credits tor pp.26. 7A, 62. 92.

C hapter Three
p.26 Portrait of Galileo Galilei ( I5t4-1642). possibly by hilippodi Nicola Furini. c. 1612. The authors appreciate the assistance oi Mario Biagoli in pointing out the reference to Funni. Courtesy ol Schloss Ambras, Austria, by permission ol Knch Ixssing/Art Resource (S00I5I0/)- p,29 Illustration showing use of the cross^stall. IW >m Peter Apian, Inlnnhit-tio GeSijrapbtm (Ingo)stadt, 1533), title page 1 1ought nn (fGCS. Ap34.553i2) . p. 30 Telescope attributed to Galileo. Courtesy oi the Istituto e Museo di Sioria della Scienza, Florence (2428). p.31 Diagram illustrating eclipse ot one ol Jupiter s satellites, from James Ferguson. Agronomy livpLiiued(Ixjndon, 1756), plate-i. p.79 Houghton (^FC75.F3813.756a). p,32 Table predicting the positions ot Jupiter's satellites, from Giovanni Domenico Cassini, I'phemeraks ftonomenses Jtedieeorum SyArutn (Bologna, 1 668), p.2 of section entitled Fphemerides Mediceomm Ad Annum .WDCW TII. Houghton (5lCb C2735 668e). p.33 Portrait of Giovanni Domenico (Jean-Dominique) Cassini (1625-1712) by Durangel, 1879, alter an engraving based on a contemporary ponra.il. Courtesy ot the Observatoire tie Paris (inv. no. PPo5) p.34 Louis XIV and Jean Baptiste Colbert, from C. Perrault, Alemotrespour.>eivira fbtstoire naturelie tiesammuu.x (Amsterdam. 173b), Irontispiece. Houghton (*FPt> Aci2 1 B73bm v.l). p.35 Delineations of French coastline, from Jean Picard and Philippe de La Hire, * ' Pour la Carte de France corrigee sur les Observatitms de AIM. Picard & ' de 1fire, published in Reeuetlil'Okierrattons (Paris, 16*^3), pp.91-92. 1loughton (*l FCb Ac 121 693r). Cotnputer-generaLed map by %.lellrey L. Ward Graphic Design. p.36 P.ngra^'ing ol the Paris Obseivattnv b \ -Perelle, c. 1671. Couiles\- ol the Observiitoire de Paris. p,36 Contemporary portrait t Ole Roemer ( l(i44-1710) at the Astronfimical Observatorv, University ol Copenhagen. Fctachrome from the Ole Rociner Museum. Kroppedals Alle3, DK-2630. Tiiastrup. p.37 Diagram explaining Roemer s determination ol the liniie velocits of light. Irom James Ferguson, *btrousrtiy Explained (Ixindon. 1756), plate 5. pj87. 1loughton (sKC75d*3813.756a). p.37 Ole Roemer in his observatoiy, from Peter Honebow. Hast.t Attnmomiaesi\*e*\stronsmmeparsAleehamea (Havniae, 1735), plate 1 1 1 . Houghton (*QD C7 H7587 735B). p-38 Portrait of King Charles II (1630-85) by Marcellus Laroon, c. 1670. Courtesy ol Christ s Hospital (Blue Coat School). p,39 Oil portrait of John Flamsteed (It>4b-I7l9), artist unknovi n, c. 1680, KS. p.40 "Prospectus \ ersus lx>ndinum (' Prospect towartl D>ndon), an etching by Francis Place, c. 1(>76. From cr ' Westminster, volume I, a book of topographical prints compiled by SamueJ Pepys in 1 700. Courtesy ol the Pepys Librarv^, Aiagdalene College, Cambridge. p.4l 'Prospectus Intra Camera Stellata (Prospect within ibe Star Chamber/' now known as ihe Octagon Room), an etching by Francis Place, c. 1676. From Loiuhm c* Westminster* volume /, a book of topographical prints compiled bv Samuel Pepys in 1700, Courtesy of the Pepys Libraiy. Alagilalene College. Cambridge.

Chapter One
Frontispiece p.\iii Sculpture ul Adas at Rockefeller Center by l^ee t^iwrie. January !93*. Photograph courtesy ol George Gibson p,2 AYanuscript ol Oronce Fine s Spbi-fY(hi,\ UmJe ( Paris, 15*49). By permission ot the Department ot Priming and Graphic Ails. I loughton (AL lyp '77. p.6/r). p.3 World map, from Claudius Ptolemy, CiKmograplna (L'lni, 1482). By permission of the Department of Priming and Graphic Arts. Houghton (Tvp Inc 2556). pH World map, Irom Claudius Ptolemy. Geographta ([Argentinae (Strasbourg). 1 5131). I\ v permission ot the Department of Printing and Graphic Arts, Houghton (Tvp 52U. 13./ 15 PF). p.*l Tabula Terra Incognita, Irom Claudius Ptolemy, Geographic (|Argentinae (Strasbourg). 1513]. By permission ol the Department ol Printing and Graphic Arts. 11 oughton (Tvp 520.13-/15 PF). p.5 Diagram illustrating the tilt of the liarths axis in relation to its orbit around the sun, From George Adams, LitrvnomiealtwJ Geograpbual Kt.uiy.* (Jjondon. 1795). vol. IV. ['late V. fig. 1 1oughton (Astro 8005.1.12). p.6 table showing the number ol miles in a degree of longitude at every degree of latitude, Irom bituyclopaedia ftritanmca (Ivlinhurgh. 1771). vol. 3t p.372. Houghton ( lyp 520.13.715 PF). p-6 Diagram showing lines ot longitude divided into hours, Irom Oronce Fine, Spbiiera AIunJi (Paris, 1551), p. 17v. ! lougbton ( FC5.F494.533de). p.8 Winds and currents ot the North and South Atlantic. Illustration by Jeffrey L. Ward Graphic Design, p.9 Significant voyages of exploration. Illustration by JelVrey L. Ward Graphic Design, pp. 10-1 1 The wreck ol the a X msterAun by Cornelis Ciaesz van Wieringen (c. 1580-1633), 1599(7). N M M (Palmer Collection, fit IC0724). p .l2 Title page Irom leersteDeel Iti/tA' (Ijeyden, 1586), the 1-atin translation of Lucas Janszoon Waghenaers SpiegbelehrrjCeei'iierdt. Houghton (*85-793F), p.13 Page of a log book, from Captain John Davis (Dayys). The Seamans Secret.* (lyondon, 1643). Courtesy ol the Bodleian Library, Oxford (SAVILE.L.10.[2]).

2.

C hap ter Two

p. 14 Portrait ot Sir Clowdisley Shovell (e. 1650-1707) by Michael Dahl, c. 1702.* N M M (BHC3025). p. 16 Richard Mount and Thomas Page, Chart of the English Channel, published in TheFngfish Pilot, Part I ' describing the SeaConst.*, Capes, Head-Lands, 2d ed. {London. 1720), printed by R. and W. Mount and T. Page. Courtesy of the Harvard Map Collection, Harvard University (M A 5440 720.1 PF*). p,17 The wreck of the Awcm tion, 1707. N M M (1034). p-18 Sketch by Leon A Morel-Fatio (1810-71 ) showing the log and line in use. published in Kugene Pacini. La Marine, Arvnaitx, IVavines, tUfuipages, Navigation, /Xtterages. et Combats (Paris, 1844). Courtesy of the Mu see de la Marine, Paris, p .l9 Navigator using a compass, from Marco Polo, Le (jtvre desAlerveitles This copy was produced about 1410-12 tor the due de Bourgogne, who offered it in January 1413 to bis uncle, the due de Beriy. Courtesy of the Bibliothecjue Nationale, Paris (Fr. Ms. 2810, f. I88r). p-21 Portrait of George Anson (16971762) by Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-92), c. 17-45. N M M (BHC2517). p.22 Map showing the Centurions voyage around Cape Horn in 1741. Irom George Anson, Voyage armnd the World (London, 1748), p.94. Houghton (SA 877.40.2). p.24 The capture of the AJuestra Senora de Cohaehnga by the Centurion by Samuel Scott. N M M (BHC0360).

C hapter F our
p.-42 Portrait ol Gemma Frisitis (1508-55) by Ja n van Stalburch, 1557. Courtesy of the Ashmolean Aluseum. Oxford (Douce Collection: Solander 15. Mount I), p.44 Drum-shaped portable mechanical timekeeper, signed "Beauvais," France, c. 1540, TM (1070). p.45 Drawing of Galileo s pendulumcontrolled mechanism, 1659. Courtesy ol the Biblioleca Nazionale Centrale (Manoscritti Galileiani. (ialileo, p. VI, tome 4. c. 50). p.46 Pastel portrait of Christiaan Huygens (1629-95) by Bernard Vaillant (1632-98). Courtesy of the Huygensmuseum Hofv^'ijck. Voorburg, the Netherlands, p .47 Sketch ol pendulum drawn by Christiaan Huygens in his letter ol March 28, lt>58, to Jean Chapelain in Pans. Courtesy of the Department ol Western Manuscripts, University Libraiy, Leiden, p.47 Pendulum clock by Salomon Coster, The Hague, 1657. T M (1131). p.48 Drawing of a marine timekeeper, from Christiaan Huygens, Horologium OselUatorium (Paris, 1673), p.20. Houghton ( 0fNC6 H 9846 673h [B]). p.49 Portrait of Robert Hooke (16351703) by Anders Hedberg, December 1997. Courtesy of Anders Hedberg. p-49 Christiaan Hu3^genss first sketch of a balance spring, made in Paris on January 20, 1675. Courtesy ol the Department ol Western Manuscripts, University Library, Leiden.

72//

Illustration ,<oiimo and cn'dito

C h ap ter Five
p-50 Pori 1 1 1 1 1ol William W'hislon (Iblv'-l/ol^) b \ Sarah I lo.ullv. c. 1/0U(?). NPCI <2h3). p.52 Title page from Sir Kenchn Digliv. , I Ii}t fhu'ouroi' Jhttk m ii St>h'otth . tw w /tfy of tifif*IAiinn-ihUiti af JIon fpcliwr, F i\ u u \ - (London. I(>58). 11oughion <0EC65.D5l)93. Egh!i8w). p.53 Mezzotint ol Sir Kenelm Digby ( Hi05-bo) by Jacob I loubraken. published in 1 alter a painting hv Anthonv van D \ke. Courtesy ol the Collection ol 1listoncal Scientific Instruments, Harvard University (1 998- I -Ob 17). p.SH I IMust ration ol use ot l e cross-stall, irom G. \ \ i lieinsen van llollesloot, Die t 'aerie vatuh.' OoM etnhm IHv/^v <1594). Courtesy ol the Nederlands Scheep* aai t museum. 1(arlmgen, the Netherlands. p.5-t A Christ's I lospital boy using a backstafi, Irom Sir Jonas Aliiore.. 1Aor System?of the Altifbentahck,' (London. 1681). pp.2-l8-49. Houghton ( 1'Cb.VM /H6.h8ln). p.55 A/nnuth compass bv bKvanl Nairne. London. Courtesy ol the Collection ol Historical Scientific Instruments. Harvard University (95), p.56 Edmond 1 1alley s isogonic chart ol the Atlantic. |70j. By permission ol the W illiam Andrews Clark Memorial Library, University ol Cali torn ia. Los Angeles (M AP G9101 C93 1700 H3-1). Photograph courtesy of Rand .McNally, p.58 Title page Irom Samuel Fvler. 1 'aUhjiltutifiLt luretilde Expii*ratu> (1-aindon, |64 J9) I loughton ( ' EC 65 l'993b 6991). p.60 Title page Irom William W histon and Humphry Ditton,.! \ t \ i*Jfetbih^tor DuHWYrintj tbc iMmtfilnA (London. 1/ H ). Houghton (cEC7 Wn794 7 Inn), p.60 Explanatory diagram tor proposed longitude method. Irom William Whiston and Humphry Ditton. , I .Vm* , Methi*) far DLwivrutif tht [rtftHftiUih' (London. 17H). Ho ugh ion LTCC7 W5794 7 H n). counesv ol Lincolnshire County Council: L slier ( allery. Lincoln. L K p-83 .Movement o! stable clock at Brocklesby Park, liv kind permission ol the I-lari ol Yarborough. Photograph h \ Heather Lees, eounesy ol Lincolnshire County Council: Usher Gallery. Lincoln. UK. p.8n Illustration showing ihe area ol an oak log used m the construction ol the wheels ol I laiTtson s clocks. I lustration by and courtesy ol David Penney, p.85 \-ray showing construction ol one ot the wooden wheels ol I larrison s clocks. Courtesy of Andrew King, p.86 Construction ol 1larrison s gridiron pendulum. Illustration by and courtesy ol David Penne\ p,87 Precision Umgcase clock. I. 1725-2(>. made by John Harrisons brother James. TM (2000). p.87 Sitle view ol 1larrison s precision timgcase clock, c 1725-2ti. I A\ (2000>. p.88 Aetion o! Harrison s grasshopper escapement. Illustration by and courtesy ol David Penney, p.89 Back plate o! I larrison s precision longcase clock, c. 1725-2l>. T.Ml 2000). p.90 Detail ol I larrison*s cottage in tiarrow upon Humber, c. 1910. Photograph b \ (.George Scholiekl. courtesy o! Andrew King, p.90 Detail ot Harrisons cottage in Barrow upon I lumber, l . 1*> i0 . Photograph by ( ieorge Schofield, courtesy ol Andrew King. p.91 I he equation ol time table, by John Harrison (! b93-! 77li), on the Irame ot the door ol his pendulum clock ol 1728. W'CO bridge man.

C h ap ter E igh t
p.92 Iront view ot H-L N .M .\ \ (D ti/83) p. 9 1 Eirst page ot a document writien b \ John Harrison concerning his ideas lor making accurate clocks lor use on land anil sea, 1/30. W C C 1 Bridgeman (MS(i02(v I ) p.94 I'inal page ol a document written by John Harrison concerning his ideas lor making accurate clocks tor use on land and sea, 1750. W'CC/liridgeman (MSb02o. I ). p.95 Mezzotint ol George Graham (c. Ih74-1751) by J . Faber, after the portrait by Thomas f ludson. TM (1 P>8). p.97 Mew of H-1 from above. N.M.M (Dti783). p. 100 Detail ol map showing the entrance to the I nghsh Channel. Irom Herman Moll, //v II W Uthwnlh'J (London. 1709-20), Alap 3 (c- 1710). 1loughton (c92J-l0Qb PF). p.102 Detail of inscription on I I-2. Authors photograph. p J0 3 IVont view ol I 1-2. NMiM (,Dh78-lA). p. 104 Side view ol movement t> t 11-2. Authors photograph, p.105 Draw ing ol H-3's balances Irom one ol Harrison s manuscripts. Authors photograph. W CC/Bridgeman (MS3972/2. p. 13). p.105 Detail ol the longitude lunatic in 'Bedlam. the last ol eight prints ol William Hogarth's The Rake Protjnw, 1735. Courtesy ot the Harvard University A n Museum; gift oi Belinda L. Randall from the collection ol John W'itt Ramlall (R5694).

Chapter Six
p.62 Portrait ol Edmond Ilallev (c. 1656- 17-12) by Thomas Murray. not dated (but the illuMration that Hailey is holding may be identified with two iin port am papers thai he published in Ib87). US. p.64 Portrait ot Isaac Newton ( 1 6-12-1/27) attributed to .John Vanderbnnk. c. 172b. N PG (558). p.65 Title page from the l^ongitude Act of 171-1 (Act 12 Anne eap. 15). By permission ol the Harvard la w School Library. Harvard University (UK 353 1.23). p.65 Page Irom the Ixmgitude Act ol 171-1 (Act 12 Anne nip. In). By permission ol the Harvard Law School Library. Harvard University (UK 353 1*23). p-68 Title page Irom Jane Squire,, I Proposal To Delenmnenur LomjitaJe, 2d ed. (London, 1743). I loughton (E C / Sq584 742pb). p.69 Illustration ol proposed longitude method, from Jane Squire. < 1Proposal to Delemnne i>fir 2d ed. (London, 17-33), lolding plate opposiie p.5. Iloughton (*KC7 Si|584 742pb). p.70 Title page Irom Jeremy Thacker, The IstWtjtfmh'-* h-vanun J (Jjondon, 1/ 14). Courtesv ol the Bnnsh Library (533.1.22 J I ]). p.7! Engraving ot Jeremy Thackers chronometer, from his pamphlet. The hiWtfituA'o Kvtimdi i* (Ixmdon, 1714). Courtesy ol the British Libraiy (533.1.22 [1])*

C hapter N ine
p. 106 Portrait ot .John Hadley (1682-1/44) In Bartholomew Dandndge (lli9l-c. 1755), c. 1730. N.MA1 (BHC2/31). p.108 Sketch ol mariner using an octant, trom the log ot Archibald Hamilton. N M M (B5327). p . I l i Octant dated 1750. Courtesy of the Collection of t listorical Scientiiic Instruments, Harvard University (5303). p.l 12 Portrait of James Bradley (1693-1762) by Thomas Hudson (1/01-/9). RS. p.l 13 Lacailies star map, 1752. Courtesy of the British Libraiy (Maps 141. a.i. [20]). p J 14 Portrait ol Tobias Mayer (1723-62) by Westermayr. From Franz Xavervon Zach, . Ulijetneint Geoytwpht**the EphemenJen Yerftwdt van einer G^ttfLn'htifi GeL'hiicn tan) biM ajiptjefhn, vol. 3 (Weimar, 1799), Irontispiece. Houghton (Harvard Depository K D 4484). p .l 15 Portrait ol l^eonhard Euler (1707-83) by Linanucl llandmann, 175b. Photo: Oflentliche Kunstsammlung Basel, Alartin Buhler. Courtcsyr ot the Olteniiiche Kunstsammlung Basel* Aulabilder. p.l 16 letter trom Tobias Alayer to the Board ot Longitude. Courtesy ot Gottingen University Library (Hannover Des 92 XXXIV', No. II, 4. aL p.b2). p .l 16 Title page Irom Tobias Mayer. Tabuhw Alolmtm Solis (Ixmdon, 1770). Houghton (EC7 H1552 749aaa [D]). p.117 Mariner taking a lunar distance measurement, from E_ Dunkin, TheJluhtujht Sky ([xjndon( 1869), p. 242. Houghton (Asir 8178.3). p .l 18 Sextant with the Board ot longitude mark "D32" by Jesse Ramsden, c. 1772. Private collection.

Chapter Seven
p. 74 Wooden movement ol Harrison s 1713 clock, in the collection ot the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers, London. N M M (reI- l>67h9). p.77 Map ol England, Irom Ogiibv, Trawller'o GuiA? ( London, 1730), printed lor Thomas Bowles. Details of W'akelield and Barton areas, Irom Emanuel Bowen, The Ijtirije English Alla.* ( l^tindon, 1777), Map A I (West Riding ol Yorkshire* 1750) and Map 21 (Lincolnshire, 1751). Courtesy ol the Harvard Map Collection. Harvard University (150.1730.2 and MA-LC G 1808.B62.1777 P I'0), p.78 John Harrison s transcript of a lecture by Prntessor Saunderson, Irom Henry Sotheran and Cxi. catalogue, ftiblutfbeca ChfnUM-Jlrtilh'maitca. vol. 2 (London, 1921), No. 8960, facing p.454. Houghton (H R R 800 8). p.79 |])iai of I larrison's 1715 clock. Authors photograph- p-79 Backplatc ol Harrisons 1715 clock. Author s photograph. p.80 The equation ol time table, by John Harrison> (I6()3-l776). pasted to the inside of his pendulum clock ol 1717. WCC/Bridgeman. p.82 View ot stable clock built by John Harrison at Brocklesby Park c. 1722. By kind permission ol the Earl ot Yarborough. Photograph by Heather Lees.

2 /2

Ultulralum ,<ouret\< and credit.'

Chapter Ten
p. 120 General view ol i 1-3. N M M (D6785). p.!22 Die's used to strike the Royal S>cietvs Oijiltv .Medal. RS. p-123 Oil fHmraii ol William I larrisim (1728-1815) or his son John (1/6l 18-12). Photograph niuitLis \oi IjCw and Pat Goodman, p. 124 Instructions written b \ John Harrison lor the asseinhy ol his 11 3 timekeeper. WCC/Bridgeman (A1S5972/3, item 15). p. 125 Illustration of] 1 3 . probably drawn b \Thomas Bradley, c. 1840. By permission oi the Syndics ol Cambridge University libraiy anti the Directorolthe Royal Greenwich Observ atory (MS RG O tv58i> 1215). p. 126 lii-meiallic strip used in 11 3 . Illustration by and courtesy ol David Penney-, p.127 Watch by John JelVeiys, (1752-53). Ijundon. WCC/Bridgeman (WCC71009). p. 128 John Ilarrisonsdesign lor the "lesser watch. mu nlionet I by him to ihe Board ol 1 jongitude on 19 .June 1/56, Irom a set ol mechanical notes and drawings compiled by John anil his son William, c. 1726-72. W'CC/liritlgeman (WCC1Otil 03). p. 129 Drawing ol the layout ol the movement til the timekeejer 1lMby John \ lamson ( U93-1776). WCC/Bridgeman (W CC lOhl 12). p.l 30 Design lora large enamel watch dial, Irom mechanical notes and drawings compiled bv John 1larrison (1(>93-1776) anti his son W illiam c. 1726-72. WCC/Bridgeman (WCC106102). p .l31 General view ol 114 NAlAl(D789A).pJ32 View of Lackplatc of I 14 . NALM (D789B). p.l3n 11 4 at the time ot its exhibition at the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C., in 1963-64 Photograph courtesy ol Andrew King. W CC Bridgeman (W CC/ 1015). p. 172 Backplate and case ol I bo. WCC /liridgeinan <W'CC71017). p.l7h Portrait ol King George 1 1 1 (17381820) In Johann Zollanv. i . 1/ 71-72. Courtesy ol the Royal Collection 0 I ler Majesty the Oueen. p. 176 King George Ills pri\ate observatory in Richmond Park. Irom George Ernest Papendiek. Kcic Gardens:.1 Scruv of /Iiv;//v-/]w IhiiH itiij.' wi Stone (Dmilon, c - 1820). Courtesy of the Yale Center tor British A n. Paul Mellon Collection (QK73/K4/P3). p .l77 First page ol the Longitude Act ol I77h (Act In George III cap. Oh), By permission of the I larv a r.1 I-aw School Library. Harvard University (L.K353 E23).

C h ap ter Fourteen
p. 178 I oinas Aludge s lirst marine timekeeper, liv permission of the Trustees ol ihe British Aluseum (CA1-2119). p.180 Pierre U Roys inontre marine A. Courtesy ol the Musee des Aits ct .Metiers. Paris/Photo Studio CNAAl. p. 180 Pastel portrait ot Ferdinand Hcrthoud (1727-1807) by Ixuiis Rene Vialv, 1752. Courtesy ot the .Musee ties Arts et Aletters. Pans/Photo Studio CNAM. p.181 Frontispiece from Ferdinand Berthoud, TraitcA',' ffoHoijeo f\Jarinc. (Paris. 1773). II oughton (l FC7 B4ol5 773t). p.182 General view ol K-2. X M M (A5510). p.182 Backplate ol K-2. N M M (ASM I). p. 183 Aquatint of the mutiny on the iit*urity by Robert Dodtl ( 1748-18lb). c. 179(). NA1A1 (111537). p.18^ Alezzotint ol Phomas Alutlge <1715-94) by C. Townle\', 1772, after Nathaniel Dance. TM (3li8tl). p. 186 AVe/y.otint of John .Arnold (1735-99) by Susan Esther Reid, alter the portrait ot c. 1787 by Robert Davy (17357-93). TM (368c). p.188 Marine chronometer no. 52/122 made bv John Arnold and Son in 1792. T.M (795). p.189 Movement ol Arnold chronometer no. 32/122. made in 1792. TAl (795). p. 190 Original patent drawing tor Arnold's spring detent escapement. 1782 (no. 1328). Courtesy ol ihe Patent Office. Ixmdon. p-191 Original patent drawing lor Larnshaws spnng detent escapement. 1783 (no. 1354). Courtesy oI the Patent Ollice, Ixmdon. p. 192 Alezzotint of Thomas Eai nshavt (1749-1829) by Samuel Beilin, after the portrait ol 1798 by AVanin Archer Shee (1769-1850). TAl (368a). p. 193 Earnshaw spring detent escapement watch signed "Wright in the Poultry, 1xjndon, No. 2228, 1784. Private collection, p.193 A \ o \ ement ol Harnshaw spring detent escapement watch signed Wright in the Poultry, lxindon. No. 2228, 1784. Private collection. p.l9H Alarine chronometer no. 928 by Thomas liarnshaw, c. 1812. TAl (350). p. 195 Marine chronometer b \ Charles Frodsham, London, no. 18-i2, c. 1841. By kind permission ot Charles Frodsham & Co Ltd.. London, p. 195 Marine chronometer by A. l^ange & Sohne, Glashiitte B/Dresden, no. 203 975-B, made in 1944. T A \(1728)

C h ap ter Eleven
p .l36 Portrait ol Nevil Alaskelyne (1732-18! I) by Louis Francois Gerard Van tie Puyl, 1785. RS. p.139 Diagram showing determination of sun s parallax by the transit ol Venus. Irom James Ferguson,. I'tw aa/tiy Explained (lx>ndon. 1764), plate 15. p. 319. Houghton ( sEC75.F3813.756ac). p.141 Engraving 1 Portsmouth harbor, t. 1760. XA \ A \ (A3371). p-I43 The first trial voyage ol H - l Illustration hv JelVrey 1 Ward Graphic Design, p.lh4 Illustration ol an astronomers tent, engraved by J . Basire, published m W. W ales & \ V . Bavly, The Ontjuuif A*lrwuwitail QlwrvatuHi** (London, 1777), loldout plate opposite p. xii. Houghton (f EC75AVl*J88.777o). p. 145 Octant presented to William Harrison by Captain Dudley Digges in 1762. N M M (2097). p. 146 Title page Irom Ne\iJ Alaskelyne. The bntk*hiUariner[t Guide ( l^ondon, I7b3). Houghton (LC75 A13795 763b). p. H 7 Portrait of Nathaniel Bliss (1700-64). N M M (B1EC4144). p.148 The second trial voyage ol 11-4. Illustration by Je ll rev L. W an! Graphic Design.

Chapter Twelve
p. 150 Portrait ol John Harrison (1693-1776) by Thomas King, c - 176bCourtesy ol the Science Museum, Science and Society Picture Library, ljondon (1884-217). p. 153 Mezzotint ol John Harrison by Philippe Tassaen. 1768. after the portrait bv Thomas King. TjM (2494). p. 155 First page ol the l-ngitude Act ol* 1765 (Act 5 George 1 1 1 cap. 20). B \ permission of the Harvard Law School Library, Harvard University (UK 353 E23). p. 157 Title page Irom the Nautical 1 Imatiitc (ljondon, 1769). I loughton (85-77). p -158 Lunar distance table for August 1769 from the NauticalAlmanac (London, 1768). Houghion (*85-77). p. 159 Tide page from 7ablc.> Rctjiu,nfc, 2d ed. (ljondon, 1781). Houghion (NAV 637.81). pp .360-61 The Royal Observatory at Greenwich, c. 1766. NAIM (C3807). p. 162 Portrait ol John Harrison (1693-1776) (enamel paste) by James Tassie (1735-99), c. 1775. WCC/Bridgeman (WCCI06122).

C h ap ter Fifteen
p. 196 The prime meridian ol ihe world, c. 1997. NALM (Dt>S54). p.l98 Views ol the Royal Greenwich Observatory, from The Graphic. August 8, 1885, pp. 158-59. Courtesy ol the Han.and College Library, Harvard Uni\ ersirs* (1 ID p.2021). p.199 Time ball at the Royal Greenwich Obser\ 'ator\ ', c. 1870. N M M (D5607). p.200 Gate clock and time tjall at the Royal Greenwich Observatoiy. c - 1950. NAlAl (A1681C). p.201 Detail of the U.S. Naval Observatory Alternate Alaster Clock at Falcon Air Force Base in Colorado. Courtesy of Fiftieth Space Wing Public Affairs, Falcon Air Force Base. Colorado. p,202 Photograph ol Rupert Gould (1890-1948) with 11-2. Courtesy ol the National Association ot Watch and Clock Collectors, Columbia, Pa (trom NAWCC Bulletin, vol. 4, no. 4 IJune 1950J, p. 161)- p.205 HI before restoration, c. 1920. liv kind permission of Charles Frodsham & Co. Dd. London, p.20-1 112 before restoration, c. 1920. By kind peiTmssion of Charles Frodsham & Co. Ltd., ljondon p-204 H-3 before restora6on, c. 1920- By kind peiTnission ol Charles Frodsham & Co. Ltd., London, p.205 Page Irom Rupert Goulds notebook, c. 1935. NALM (MS GOU/4, Neg. 8456). p.207 Harrisons grave in St. John s, Hampstead. Author's photograph, p.208 Harrison gallery at the Old Royal Observatory1 . NAIM (D7059).

Chapter Thirteen
p.164 Portrait of Captain James Cook (1728-79) from an oi! painting by Nathaniel Hodges (1744-97), who sailed with Cook on his second voyage. N M M (BHC4227). p,166 Detai! from log book used by Captain Cook on his second voyage. By permission of the Syndics of Cambridge University Library and the Director ol the Royal Greenwich Observatories (R G O 14/59, f ok 13). p.168 Pastel portrait of William Wales (1734-98) by John Russell, 1794. N M M (2625). p. 170 General view of K-1. N M M (C9303A). p. 170 View of backplate of K- L N M M (C9303B). p .l71 H-5 in its padded box.

JS/S

Bibliography
Andrewes, W illiam J . II., ed- The Quest tor l*>JtgitnA\ Cambridge. AYassachusetts: Collection ol Historical Scicmiiic Ins! rumen Is. ] lanard I'niwisitw 199ti. Andrewes, W illiam J . II.. ami Atwood. Seth, The Tttne Aluseiun. Rockford. Illinois: The Time Museum, 198-1. Angle. Paul AV The American ReaAt . New \ ork: Rand McNally. 1%8. Asimov. Isaac. Asimovs Hioijrapbtcal b.ncvcfopcAa ot Science anO Technoloov. New York: niiulileiLiy. 1972 B;n Ihe, (j. II. Clocks anO IJ niches: An Historical Hibluujraphy. Vol. E ,ondon: N. A. G. Press. I9M: rpt. l^imlon: Holland Press, 1 9/S. Harrow, Sir John. The Life of George I*irO Anson. London: John Murray. 1839. Bedim. Silvio A The Pulse of /hue: Galileo Gniilei. the Determination ofIjonghtule. atutthe PenAditm Ctsck. l irenae: Bihlioiecca ili Xunous. 1991. Befts, Jonathan. /larrison. Ixmdon: Natron.?) .Maritime .Museum. 1993. ______ Introduction to Principles anO Explanations of Timekeepers by Harrison.. \ rn o lO antt Ear/ishaii'. [Upton. Notts.. England | : British Hornlogical Instiiute, 1 9 8 1 . Roorslin, Daniel J . The Discovetvrs. J vols. New York: Ham- N. Ahrains. 19}S3. Brown, Lloyd A. The Story ot J laps. Boston: Little, Brown. 1949. Cardinal. Catherine, ed. Fenhnaad BcrtbouA 1/27-/S07:1/orloger tnecantcieu On Roi et Oefa Alartne. La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland: Musee International il l loriogerie, 1984. Chapman, Allan. Dividing the Circle: The Development of CriticalAngular Alea.mtvment m Astronomy. I^OO-IS^O. 2d ed. Chicester, Lngland: John Wiley Sons in association with Praxis Publishing. 1995. Clifton. Gloria. Directory of British Scientific Instmment .linkers. /i^-/,V5/. Ijondon: Zweniiner (with the National Alantime Museum), 1995. Glutton* CeciJ. and Daniels, George. Clocks am) llrf/t'/v.e The collection o fthe Worshipful Company of Clockmakers. London: Sotheby Parke Bernet. 1975 I)anieis, George. Watchmaking London: Sothebv Publications. 1981. Hutton, Benjamin. Xavigatton antiX auticalA,*trat\omy. Annapolis: U.S. Naval Institute, 1 951 . Earnshaw\ Thomas. LongituOe: An Appeal to the Public. London: 1808, rpt. British llorological Institute, 1986. English i Maritime ttsoks Printed before I$01 Relating to Ship/. Their Construction am) Their Operation at Sea.... Compiled by Thomas R. Adams and David W. Waters. Providence. Rhode IsJand: The John Carter Brown Libraiy1 . and Greenwich. England: The National .Maritime Museum, 1995. Kspinasse. Margaret. Robert Hooke. ljondon: 1leinemann, 1956. Gould, Rupert T. John llarrhum amf I I is Timekeepers. Ixmdon: National Alaritiine Museum, 1978. (Reprinted from The Jlariner's Alirror, Vol. X X I, No, 2, April 1935.) . The Alarine Chronometer. Ixjndon: J . I). Potter, 1923; rpt. Antique Collectors Club. 1989. Heaps, Leo. Log ofthe Centurion. London: 1iart-Davis, MacGibhon. 19731lobden* I leather, and Hobden. Meryyr n. John Harrison (inOtlv Problem of Longitude. Lincoln, England*. Cosmic Elk, 1988llowse. Derek. Greenwich Time and the l*ongituA\ New ed. ljondon: Philip Wilson Publishers, 199/. ______ . XevilAIaskclyner The Seamans jhtnwomer. Cambridge, England: Cii mb ridge University Press, 1989. Howse. Derek* and Hutchinson, Beresford. The Clock.* anO Watches o f Captain James Cook, 1769-/969. l>ondon: Antiquarian Horological Society. 1969. [King, Andrew]. FnW a PealofBells: John Harrison, 1695-1776. Usher Gallerv exhi bition catalogue. [Lincoln, England]: Lincolnshire County Council, 1993. Landes, David S. Revolution in Time. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1983. Lavcock, William. The Lost Science ofJohn "Longitude " Harrium . Kent. England: Brant Weight. 1976. Le Bot. Jean. Les chnmometns Oe marine franpiis au AH7// siecle, ijuanO la rt de naviguer Oeirnuit science. Grenoble, France. 1983.

.Macev. Samuel 1... eil. hneyclopetha of Tune. New York Garland, 1 9 9 1 May, W. E. .1 History of tlanne Xaeujatton. 11enley-on-Thames, England: G. T Foil Iis. 1973. ______ . 'I low ihe Chronometer went to Sea. in . Iutilitarian Horology, March 197(>. pp. (jo8-(i3. Mercer. Vaudrey. Jsbn . irno/0 anO Son, Chionometer*linkers, 17fiJlS-t^. I Aindon: Antiquarian 1iorolotfKvil Society. 19/2. AV iHer, Russell. The East InOuimen. Alexandria, Virginia: Tirne-Lite, 1 980. AJorison. Samuel Eliot. The l\xtor0 History ot the Amet'tean People. New York: Oxford University Press, I9o5. AYorzer liruv ns, Willcin. The Ct\w-.*taft. llistoty am* Development ot a \avigattonal Instrument. Zutphen. the Netherlands: Wa burg Instmint, 199*3. AYoskowit*. Saul. Ihe Alethod oi Lunar Distances anil Technological Advance. presented at the Institute ol Navigation, New- York, 19(i9. Pack, S. \ V . Q. AOtiuralI*trOAnson. London: Cassel. I960. Quill, I lumphrey. John Harrison. Lopfeu. UeJahst. an<tthe20-0(hl LtmifituJe Prize. Sussex: Antiquarian Horologicai Society. 19/6. _____ . John Harrison, the Alan il l?s Z'ounit fn^ujituA'. l^>ndon: IVaker, I960. Randall. Anthony G. The Technology ot Jobn Harrison 's Portable Timekeepers. Sussex: Antiquarian llorological Society. 1989. Randall, Anthony G. The lim e AI usetun Catalogue ot Chronometers. Rocklord. Illinois: The Time AUiseum, 1992 Randall. Anthony G., and Good. Richard. Catalogue of Matches itt the British A/usettm. la)ndon: British Museum. 1990. Sabrier, Jean-Claude. /-/1mgittiJe en mera Theurc A' Lotus Bcrthoud et Henri Alotel Geneva: liditions Antiquoruin, 1993. Sadler. 1). 11. Hon is not Lost: *I recorj ol two hunA'ct) years of astronomical navLja tio/r with the S aulicaI Almanac. 1767-/% 7. London: Her .Majesty s Stationery OHice. 1968. Stewart. I^irry. The Rise of Public Science Rhetoric, Technology. anJX atural Philosophy in Xcutonian Britain, 1660-17^0. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1993. Tait, Hugh. Calalotjue of Matches in the British JIa< cum. Vol. I. The StackfreeA .London: British Aluseum Publications, 1987. Tavlor. E. G. R. Tht Havcn-TinAng Art: A History of Savufation from OJyssctts to Captain Cook. New ed- London: HoJIis & Carter lor the Institute of Navigation. 1971. ______ . The Alathematical Practitioners of Hanoverum EnglanA ///*/-/*/fi Cambritlgy. England: Cambridge University Press, 1966. ______ . The< MathematicalPractitioners of litArr ant) Stuarl EnglanJ [1485-1714 j. Cam bridge, England: Cambiidge University' Press, 195 4 . Thrower, Norman J- Wr . Alaps a n j Civilization: Cartography in Culture am} Society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 1996. _____ , ed. The Three Voyages oj Ethnond Hailey in the Parainore, 169&-I70I. 2 vols. Hakluy't Society Publications. 2d series, no- 156-57. London: Hakluvt Society. 1981. Turner. Anthony' J . E irly Scientific Instruments: Lurope. I1 0 0 1800. ljondon: Sothebys Publications. 1987. Turner. Gerard LE. Xuieleenth-Centuiy Scientific Instruments. Ixmdon: Philip Wilson Publishers for Sotheby's Publications, 1983Vaughn, 1)enys, ed. The RoyctlSth'tely anO the fourth Dimension: The Histoiy of Timekeeping. Sussex: Antiquarian llorological Society, 1993. Waters, David W. TheArt of Navigation in England in Elizabethan anO Early Stuart Times. Ixjndon: Hollis & Carter, 1958; and New Haven: Yale University Press. 1958. Whittle, Eric S. The Inventor o fthe Alartne Chronometer: John Harri*oi\ ofFoulhy. Wake lie!d. England: Wakelield Historical Publications. 1984. Williams, J . E. D. From Sails to Satellites: The Origin anO Developmentof Xavigattonal Science. Oxford. England: Oxford University' Press. 1992. Wood, Peter H. Salle: Discover)' of a Lost Explorer," in American Historical Review, Vol. 89 (1984), pp. 294-323.

3 /4

Index
Av/tv PiUjc tvhtYfUW to (ff/i.'l/'tilhw .' arc in tlaluv.

Academic Royale des Stifnces, 53, W Act 5 George III. 155. / 55 Airs1 . George, I97 AtnstcrAim . wreck of, Anne, ijucen ol England, 6b Anson. George. 21-25. 21, 27. I 14 Apian. Peter, 29 IntroOadu j Geographic*j. 29 L\k*nwtjrapbicth* Liber, 29 Arnold, John. 170, 185-93. 186 chronometer no. 52/122, 188, 189 perlormunce records ol* timekeeper ol. 100 Arnold. John Roger. 187. 191. 202 j \ssocitifion (ship). 15 16, 17 Atlantic Currents (Atlantic), map oj, iV .9 isogonic chan ol. 56 Winds (Atlantic), map ol. Azimuth (variation) compass, 55 Azores, 3, 20 Backstatf, 52, 54 Balance spring, 49 Balboa, Vasco Nunez ile. 8 Bayly, William, 144 H.M.S.. 193-95 Berthoud, Ferdinand, 105, 148. 156-57, 179-81. 180, 184 Bird, John, 156, 169 Bligh, William, 8. 183-84 Bliss, Nathaniel, 147,147, 149, 154 Biundevilic, Thomas. 44 Board of Longitude, 66-67, 72. 73, 81, 91, 93. 98. 114, 117, 166, 182. 185, 191 disbanded. 193 and Harrison, 100 101. 102, 122, 123, 128-29, 141, 147, 152-55, 157, 169, 170, 173, 175, 179 and H-4 trials, 142-43, 144, 146 Bounty, 183-84. 185 Bradley, James, 100. 112,112, 114, 138, 140-41, 147, 154 Brahe* Tycho, 33, 36, 110, 111 Burchett, Josiah, 73 Cambridge University, 66, 138 Campbell. John, 114 Canary Islands. 3, 57-^58 Cape Verde Islands, 3, 47 Cassini, Giovanni Domenico (JeanDominique). 8, 32, 32, 33, J J, 45 Cavendish, Henry, 122

Centurion, 11.M.S., 21 25.24, 98-99, 114 Charles II, Iting ol England, 58, 39. 40 Chronometers, 70-71. 71. 154, 179. 185-%. /iV tV . 189. f94. m . m 201 pocket, 187. 192 production oi, 184 85 Clock maker s Museum. 128. 175 Colbert, Jean. 33, 54 Columbus. Christopher, 5-7 Compass, 19, 55 Cook, James, 8, 122. 14(), f()4, 165-66, 170, 176-77. 184, 185-87 Copley Gold Medal, 122. 122 Cross-staff. 52, 5*/ Cunningham. William. 44 Dalryrnple, Alexander, 185 Darwin, Charles. 195 Davis, John. 13. 52. 54 The Seamans Secretsr 13 Degrees ol latitude (D.L.). 6 Demainbrav, S. C. T.. 173 Dent. E. J . 202. 205 Digby, Sir Kenelm. 51 52. 55 Digges, Dudley. 143-45 Discovery, H.M.S., 184 Distance traveled at sea, measurement ol, IS Ditton. Humph ly. 51. 58 61 Dixon, Jeremiah. 140 Drake, Sir Francis. 8 Earnshaw, Thomas, 189 92 ,192 chronometer no-928, 194 spring detent escapement watch,

Galilei. Galileo. 8, 2b, 29-30. 31-32. 36. 44 45. 47 Gahlei, Vincenzio. 45 Gama, Vascu da. 8 Gemma Frisius, 29. 42, 43H George 11, king of England. 112 George 111, king ol England. 8. 13. 173-/5. 174, 187 Global Positioning System. 201 Godfrey, Thomas, 108 Gould. Rupv-rt T . 124, 202 C i.202 notebook. 205 Graham, George, 91. 95, 95, 98, 100-101. 105, 122, 1 8 1 Greenwich. 140, 159 Greenwich mean time (G M T), 198-201 Greenwich meridian, 197 201 Guild hall (London). 78, 80. 86, 173 Hadley, John. 106, 108 Hadleys quadrant. 108 10. /OS. ///. 159 Hailey, Edmond, 8, 57, 02, 63, 73, 108. 110-12. 139. 154.202 and Ilarrison, 93 94, 98, 100 11 alley s comet. 8, 139 Harrison. Elizabeth Barrel, 81 Harrison. Elizabeth Scott. 81. 206 1larrison, James, 8*1-86, 88, 95 1larrison. John, 9- 13, 21*, 75 91, 93-105, 107-8, 112, !19, 121-35, 138. 141-42, 144-46, n o , 155, Io2 , 170-73. 189, 190, 202, 205 and Board ol Longitude. 100 101. 102, 122, 123, 128-29. 141, 147, 152-57, 169, 170, 173. 175. 179-80 clocks/clock parts, 79, 82, 85. 84, 85, 86, S7, 88. 89 and Cook s trials. 166 death of, 179 documents relating to, 78 gallery, 208 ho use/cottage. .90 and King George, 173-75 legacy/status ol. 179, 195, 206. 210 lesser" watch, 128 likenesses ot, 151 52. 156, 158, 163 manuscript, 94 and Alaskelyne, 137 38, 159 63, 168-69 pocket watch, i27 rights to inventions, 148 tomb, 207 Harrison. John (son of William), 142. 173 Harrison, William, 123, 125, 1 40-46. 147-49, 169-70, 173, 175, 206

! larrison timekeepers Brockleshv Park lower clock. 82, 83-84, 85. 134 II-1, 92, 95-101,102. 97, 105. 108. 129. 133. 140, 202.205, 206. 207-10 map ol trial voyage. 90 H-2, 101^5, 105.104, 129, 133. 140, 202. 204.204. 207 H-3, 104.105,120, 121. 125-27, 124-25. 126, 129. 133, 140-42. 151. 202. 204,204, 205, 207 H-4 (the Watch), 119. 129-35. 129, 150, 151, 152. 154, M 7. i 52-54, 156-57, 171, 172, 179. 184, 190.205. 207 disassembled. 15b duplication of. 154, 169 70, 179-82 trials, 141-49, 145, 148, 159-63. 166-69, 170. 173 115, 170-75.171,172 1713 longcase clock. 74. 78 1715 longcase clock. 79 80 1717 longcase clock. 79 80 11 ogart h, Wil Iia m, 105 longitude lunatic, 105 1lornann Cartographic Bureau, 114 Hooke. Robert, 39, 40, 48 49. 49, 108 Huygens. Christiaan, 8, 33. 45^49, 4b Clock tor finding longitude at sea (proposed). 48 International Meridian Conference. 199 Jeffery. John, 127-28, 155. 169 Jeffeiys warch, 127-28, 127, 152 Juan Fernandez Island, 23 25, 115 Jupiter. 30-32, 112, 146 satellites. 27. 30. 31. 51, 32. 33. 64 Kendall. Larcum. 155, 163, 169. 170, 1 76-77. 179-84, 185 Kendall timekeepers K-l. 167. 169-70, 170, 177, 183, 184. 185, 207 K-2, 182-84, 182 K-3. 184 Keroualle. Louise de, 35) Kew Observatory, 176 King, Thomas, 151, 156 Lacaille, Nicolas Louis de, 112, 113, 115 Le Roy. Ju!ien, 105 Le Roy, Pierre, 105, 179-80 Levi ben Gerson. 54 Lindsay, Sir *John. 148 49 Log book layout, 15

m
E arth

elliptical orbit of, > East India Company, 154, 185, 192 Egmont. Lord. 155 Einstein, Albert. 122 English Channel, map of, /6 Equation of time, 80, SO "Equation of time table. 80. 91 Equator, I, 3, 4, 7 Euler, Leonhard, 114, 115, 116, 154 Fitzroy, Robert, 195 Flamsteed. John. 39, 59, 65, 72-73. 93-94, 110, 112,154 Flamsteed House, 201 2 Fortunate Islands, 3 France, coastline of, > 5 ^ Franklin, Benjamin, 122 Fyler, Samuel, 57 58

2 /S

Longitude Act ol' 1714. 9. 21. 65. 66-67. 93. 98. 101, 114. 145, 152, 155, 169. 193 of 1774, 1 75-76,177 See tiL > i* Aei 5 George III. lx>ngitude prize, 63 73, SI. 101. 107, 114. 129. 137, 142. 146. 175. 185 Harrison and. 91. 145 46. 154 55, 156, 1 66, 175 Longitudes Examut V ? , Tbe (Thacker),

Aludge, Thomas. 155. 156, 157, 1 69, 184. 18*4-85 first marine timekeeper, 178 Muclge, Thomas Jr.* 385, 187 Napoleon Bonaparte, 139 National Maritime Museum. 96. 133. 145 A imttealAlmanae anJ Atfronotnieal Ephemeri*. 157 58. / 5 V . 169. 198-99 New World. 4 Newton. Sir Isaac. 8. 9, 41. 58. 63-65. 64. 72-73. 78, 94. 108 Nor ris. Admiral, 100 North. Lend. 175 North Star, 27, 55, 57 Ntiestra Seflora de Cohfiehmtja, 24 Observatory, portable, (44 Octant. I II . I4 i See alto Hadley's quadrant Old Royal Observatory. See Royal Observatory at Greenwich. Onslow, Arthur, 101 Oxford University, 66 Paramore. 57 Paris Observatory, .33. 35. >6, 40. 45, 112 meridian, 199 Parliament, 9, 21,61, 65, 81, [48, 175 Pelham* Sir Charles, 83 Pendulum-controlled mechanism,

Powder ol Sympathy. 51 52, Priestley. Joseph. 122 Prime meridian, I, 3 4, 57, 196, 197-99 Prineipies ofAir. Harrison s Timekeeper *'itb Plate.* of the Same. The. 169 Proctor, Captain, 98-99 Ptolemy, 2 1 Ramsden. Jesse, 119 Resolution, 166, 177 Richmond, observatory at, 173 Robison, .John, 144-45 Roemer, Ole, 35 36, > 6 , >7. 112 Royal Navy. 17,20. 101. 165. 192. 193, 195 Royal Observatory at Greenwich, 39, 40, 40, 65. 73, 93, 151. 156, [59. 16(1-61. 166. 168. 173. 176, 191, 197, 198, m , 199. 201, 208 "Camera Stellata (Slar Chamber), 41 gate clock, 200 Royal Society, 39, 49, 63, 66, 95. 98, 101, 104, 108. 122-23. 139, 146, 190 Rutherford, Ernest. 122 St. Helena, 63. 139-40. 146, 149 St. Pierre, sieur de. 39 Saturn, 30, 45 Saunderson. Nicholas, 76. 78 Scilly Isles, 8, 15, 16, 21, 5S Seven Years War. I 16, 140-41 Sextant, 118 Sharp. Abraham, 73 ShovelJ, Clowdisley, 14. 15-18, 21, 27, 58 Sloane, Sir Hans, 101 Smith, Robert, 100 101 South America winds and currents, 8

Spring deleni escapement, patent for, 190, IV I Sifuire, Jane. 68 69 Star catalogs. 40-41. 63, 73, c )4. 110 Tables Requisite. 158, 159 Tassaen. Peter Joseph. 151. 152 Tassie, James, 163 Thacker. Jeremy, 70 72. 70. 185 L*itjifu()es Exumm th The, 71 Timekeeper method. 43 49. 63-64, 176-77, 179, 182 Timekeepers, early mechanical, 44 Tompion, Thomas, 9 I Trade routes, 9 Transit nf Venus, 138-141 Tropic ol Cancer. 1, 3 Tropic (it Capricorn, I, 3 Universal l>aw of Gravitation, 72 Universal Time fUT). 201 U,S. Naval Observatoiy Alternate Master Clock, 201 Velocity ol light. 35-37, Viviani, Vincenzo. 44 45 Voyages, early, 9 Waghenaer. Lucas Janszoon Spieijhel tier Zeevaenk. 12 Wager, Sir Charles, 98, 100 Wales, William. 168 Werner, Johannes, 28, 29, 39 Western (Atlantic) Ocean, map of, 4 Whiston, William. 50, 58 61 Wills, Roger, 99[00 World map, J. 4 Worshipful Company of Clockmakers. The, 78, 127 Wr ounded dog theory, 9, 51 52 Wren. Christopher, 39, 40, 206 Wright, Thomas, 190, 193 Wyatt, Thomas, 148

7 1
Louis XIV, king of France, 8, 32, 33, 54. 36 Ludlarn, William, 155, 169 Lunar distance method. 28 29. 29. 49, 60. 65. 72, 95. 108, 109-10. 113, 114-19. 117. 145. 147, lb6 errors with. 192 Maskelyne and, 137. 138, 139, 149, 154, 167-68, 199 Lunar tables. 113-14. 116, 117, 138. 140. 146-47. 182 Lyltleton, William, 142^3 Magellan. Ferdinand. 8 Magnetic variation method. 57 Maskelvne, Nevil, 12 13, I >6, 137-4 (X . 146. 147, 149, 157-^58 astronomer royal, [54. [56, 159-63* 166-69, 176, 185. 191, 198-99, 202

The British jUanners Guide, 146

Mason. Charles, 140 Mathews, William, 155, 169 Mayer, Tobias, 114, 116. 138, 139. 147, 154, 191 letter to Board of Longitude, 116 Medici, Cosimo de', 30 Mich ell, John, 155, 169 Monson, Lord, 101 Moon (Earths), 39, 110-11, 112

* /5

Pendulum-controlled timekeeper/clock, 47 Pepys, Samuel, 20-21 Peter the Great, 94 Philip 1 1 1 , king of Spain, 30 Picard. Jean. 36 Portsmouth harbor, 141

s /6 '

A fully illustrated edition o f the international best-seller

Tin Illustrated Longitude recounts in words and images the epic quest to solve the greatest scientific problem o f the eighteenth and three prior centuries: determining how a captain could pinpoint his ships location at sea. All too often throughout the ages o f exploration, voyages ended in disaster when crew and cargo were tidier lost at sea or destroyed upon the rocks o f an unexpected land fall. Thousands of lives and die fortunes o f nations hung on a resolution to the longitude problem To encourage a solution, governments established pri/es for anyone whose method or device proved suc cessful. The largest reward o f 20,000 truly a king's ransom was offered by Britains Parliament in 1714. The scient fic establishment- from Galileo to Sir Isaac Newton had been certain that a celestial answer would be found and invested untold effort in this pursuit. By contrast. John Harrison imagined and built the unimag inable: a clock that told perfect time at sea, known toda\ as the chronometer. Harrisons trials and tribulations
P r a is e f o r

Longitude

during his forty-year quest to win the pri/c are the culmination o f this remarkable story. The Illustrated Longitude brings a new and important dimension to Dava Sobels celebrated storv. It contains the entire original narrative o f Longitude, redesigned to accompam 183 images cliosen by William Andrewes trom portraits o f every important figure in the ston to maps and diagrams, scientific instruments, and John Harrisons remarkable sea clocks themselves. Andrewes's elegant captions and sidebars on scientific and historical events tell their own ston o f longitude, paralleling and illuminating Sobels memorable tale DAVA SOBEL is the author o f the best-sellers Longitude and Galileos Daughter, and the editor and translator o f Ijcttcrs to Father. She li\ es in Hast Hampton, New York W IL L IA M J. H . A N D R E W E S is a museum consultant specializing in the histon o f scientific instruments and time measurement. He is the editor o f 77a Questfor Longi tude and lives in Concord, Massachusetts.

The Illustrated Longitude

Two respected tellers o f the long rude tale have teamed up1 Sobel's c o m p e llin g prose is coupled with colorfi.il a n d detailed illu stratio ns provided b \ Andrewes. This edition responds to entreaties by readers who loved Sobels Longitude but who wanted pictures to go with it. Mercators World E n o rm o u s care has been devoted to the illustrations and captions. Readers will finish this book considerably more educated about geography and navigation. USA Today This new illustrated ed tion o f Sobel's 199E> study o f Harrisons remarkable instiumcnt s trikin g ly illu m in ate s this largely u n k n o w n b u t crucial discovery. D allas M orning News P r a is e f o r

Longitude

As m uch a tale o f intrigue as it is o f scicnce. . A book full o f gems for anyone ntercstcd in history astronomy, navigation, dockmaking, and not tlie least plai ^ old human ambition and greed." Philadelf Intric ate a n d elegant. N o novelist could impi ovc on the elements ot Dava Sobel's Longitude This fascinati

Anyone with an interest in history or things maritime should consider Ijm gitude. b rin gs alive the eig htee n th century. USA Today

N early perfect prose and a magnificent story, an e x trao rdinary b o o k . Washington Post Book
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