Longitudes Examined: Tercentenary Conference on the History of the Board of Longitude and the Determination of Longitude at Sea
Longitudes Examined: Tercentenary Conference on the
History of the Board of Longitude and the Determination of Longitude at Sea
Friday 25-Saturday 26 July 2014
Lecture Theatre, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich
This major international conference marks the
tercentenary of the passage of the Longitude Act on 20 July 1714. It offers the
opportunity to discuss the history of the Board of Longitude during its
subsequent century of activity, and the broad implications of the enterprises
to determine longitude at sea.
This is a conference designed for the general public, and
will address the main elements of the narratives of reward, discovery,
controversy and excitement that surrounded the longitude projects of the time.
The conference will explore how navigational techniques changed, how the Board
of Longitude worked and the influence it exerted, and its very wide
institutional, cultural and social significance.
The Conference is organised under the auspices of the
AHRC project The Board of Longitude 1714-1828: Science, Innovation and Empire
in the Georgian World. It coincides with the opening of a major exhibition on
Longitude at the National Maritime Museum, Royal Museums Greenwich.
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