English clockmaker John Harrison revolutionized long distance seafaring in the 18th century, solving the problem of calculating longitude at sea and devising tools that helped sailors navigate with ...

Explains the concepts of latitude and longitude, which are used to locate places on Earth. It describes how latitude is measured in degrees north or south of the equator and how longitude is measured ...

Following the Scilly naval disaster of 1707, which lost four British Navy ships and almost 2000 sailors at sea, Parliament decided sailors needed a better navigational tool. The British government ...

The Prime Meridian of the World (dotted line) and the modern reference meridian indicating zero longitude using satellite measurements (solid line). Once called the Prime Meridian of the World, the ...

At head of title: Department of Commerce. U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey. O. H. Tittmann, superintendent. Most of the plates are printed on both sides.

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Catherine Sabino is an editor and author who writes about travel. If you’re intrigued by the history of time, or become curious ...

Once called the Prime Meridian of the World, the invisible line running north to south that divides the world into Eastern and Western hemispheres passed through the Airy Transit Circle — a ...