1.
Longitude Act
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The Longitude Act was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom passed in July 1714 at the end of the reign of Queen Anne. It established the Board of Longitude and offered rewards for anyone who could find a simple. The Act of 1714 was followed by a series of other Longitude Acts that revised or replaced the original, as transoceanic travel grew in significance, so did the importance of accurate and reliable navigation at sea. Scientists and navigators had been working on the problem of measuring longitude for a long time, while determining latitude was relatively easy, early ocean navigators had to rely on dead reckoning to find longitude. This brought the problem of measuring longitude at sea into sharp focus once more, following the Merchants and Seamen Petition, which called for finding an adequate solution and was presented to Westminster Palace in May 1714, the Longitude Act was passed in July 1714. For details on many of the efforts towards determining the longitude, the Longitude Act offered a series of rewards, rather than a single prize. The rewards increased with the accuracy achieved, £10,000 for anyone who could find a way of determining longitude at sea to an accuracy of not greater than one degree of longitude. The reward was to be increased to £15,000 if the accuracy was not greater than 40 minutes, many rewards were paid out over the 114 years of the Board of Longitudes existence. John Harrison received more money than any individual, with several rewards from the 1730s-1750s. Subsequent Longitude Acts offered different rewards, in 1820 £5,000 was paid to the officers and crews of HMS Hecla and HMS Griper under this Act. Alexi Baker, Longitude Acts, Board of Longitude project, University of Cambridge Digital Library
2.
1707 Scilly naval disaster
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The Scilly naval disaster of 1707 was the loss of four warships of a Royal Navy fleet off the Isles of Scilly in severe weather on 22 October 1707. 1550 sailors aboard the vessels lost their lives, making the incident one of the worst maritime disasters in the history of the British Isles. The main cause of the disaster was the inability to accurately calculate their positions. During this campaign, which was fought from 29 July to 21 August, the overall campaign was nevertheless unsuccessful and the alliance was ultimately defeated by Franco-Spanish units. The British fleet was ordered to home, and set sail from Gibraltar to Portsmouth in late September. The force under Shovells command comprised fifteen ships of the line as well as four fireships, the sloop Weazel, the passage was marked by extremely bad weather and constant squalls and gales. As the fleet sailed out on the Atlantic, passing the Bay of Biscay on their way to England, the weather worsened and storms gradually pushed the ships off their planned course. Finally, on the night of 22 October 1707 Old Style, the fleet was thought to be sailing safely west of Ushant, an island outpost off the coast of Brittany. Following behind the Association was St George, whose crew saw the flagship go down in three or four minutes. St George also struck rocks and suffered damage but eventually managed to get off, HMS Eagle, a 70-gun third-rate ship of the line commanded by Captain Robert Hancock, hit the Crim Rocks and was lost with all hands on Tearing Ledge amongst the Western Rocks. It is estimated that the HMS Eagle had at least as many crew as the HMS Association, sinking a few hundred metres away from Bishop Rock, her wreck lies in a depth of 130 feet. HMS Romney, a 50-gun fourth-rate ship of the commanded by Captain William Coney, hit Bishop Rock. The sole survivor from the three largest ships was George Lawrence, who had worked as a butcher before joining the crew of Romney as quartermaster. HMS Firebrand, a fireship commanded by Captain Francis Percy, struck the Outer Gilstone Rock like Association, the exact number of officers, sailors and marines who were killed in the sinking of the four ships is unknown. Statements vary between 1,400 and over 2,000, making it one of the greatest maritime disasters in British history, for days afterwards, bodies continued to wash onto the shores of the isles along with the wreckage of the warships and personal effects. Many dead sailors from the wrecks were buried on the island of St Agnes, a small memorial was later erected at this site. The circumstances under which the remains were found gave rise to stories. Shovell was temporarily buried on the beach on St Marys, by order of Queen Anne his body was later exhumed, embalmed and taken to London where he was interred in Westminster Abbey
3.
Cloudesley Shovell
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Admiral of the Fleet Sir Cloudesley Shovell, was an English naval officer. As a junior officer he saw action at the Battle of Solebay, as a captain he fought at the Battle of Bantry Bay during the Williamite War in Ireland. As a flag officer Shovell commanded a division at the Battle of Barfleur during the Nine Years War, along with Admiral Henry Killigrew and Admiral Ralph Delaval, Shovell was put in joint command of the fleet shortly afterwards. During the War of the Spanish Succession Shovell commanded a squadron which served under Admiral George Rooke at the capture of Gibraltar, working in conjunction with a landing force under the Earl of Peterborough his forces undertook the siege and capture of Barcelona. He was appointed commander-in-chief of the Navy while at Lisbon the following year and he also commanded the naval element of a combined attack on Toulon, base of the main French fleet, in coordination with the Austrian army under Prince Eugene of Savoy in the summer of 1707. His life was brought to an end in a shipwreck in the Isles of Scilly later that year. He also served as MP for Rochester from 1695 to 1701, born in Cockthorpe, the son of John Shovell, a Norfolk gentleman, and Anne Shovell, Shovell was born into a family of property and distinction which, although not poor, was by no means wealthy. The unusual first name of Cloudesley derives from the surname of his maternal grandmother Lucy Cloudisley and he went to sea as a cabin boy in the care of a paternal relative, Admiral Sir Christopher Myngs, in 1663. After Myngs death he remained at sea in the care of Admiral Sir John Narborough, promoted to masters mate on 17 September 1672, Shovell transferred to the third-rate HMS Fairfax later that month and then moved to the third-rate HMS Henrietta in November 1672. Promoted to lieutenant on 25 September 1673, he transferred to the third-rate HMS Harwich in 1675, Shovell led a surprise attack on the pirates, sinking a number of their ships in January 1676. For this action he received the sum of £80 from Narborough, two months later he undertook a second raid against the pirates, for which he was awarded a gold medal from King Charles II. In a letter from the Admiralty, Samuel Pepys recorded the Kings satisfaction with Shovell’s actions, promoted to captain 17 September 1677, Shovell was given command of the fifth-rate HMS Sapphire. He transferred to the fourth-rate HMS Phoenix in April 1679 and returned to HMS Sapphire in May 1679 before transferring to the fifth-rate HMS Nonsuch in July 1680, throughout this period Shovell was engaged in the defence of Tangier from Salé raiders. After the battle, Commodore John Ashby and Shovell were knighted and he transferred to the third-rate HMS Monck in October 1689 and ordered to patrol the area between Ireland and the Isles of Scilly. In June 1690 he was commodore of a squadron, which convoyed King William across St Georges Channel to Carrickfergus. Promoted to rear-admiral on 3 June 1690, Shovell hoisted his flag in the first-rate HMS Royal William and he provided naval support for Percy Kirkes Capture of Waterford in July 1690. At Barfleur Shovells flagship was the first ship to break through the enemys line and he received a wound in the thigh during the action, which later incapacitated him during preparations for the attack which destroyed the French ships that had taken refuge at La Hogue. Along with Admiral Henry Killigrew and Admiral Ralph Delaval, Shovell was put in joint command of the fleet in January 1693, after the disastrous attack on the Smyrna merchantmen at the Battle of Lagos in June 1693, all three admirals were dismissed from their joint command
4.
Isles of Scilly
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The Isles of Scilly are an archipelago off the south western tip of the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain. It is the southernmost location in England and the United Kingdom, the population of all the islands at the 2011 census was 2,203. Scilly forms part of the county of Cornwall, and some services are combined with those of Cornwall. However, since 1890, the islands have had a local authority. Since the passing of the Isles of Scilly Order 1930, this authority has had the status of a county council, the adjective Scillonian is sometimes used for people or things related to the archipelago. The Duchy of Cornwall owns most of the land on the islands. Tourism is a part of the local economy, along with agriculture — particularly the production of cut flowers. Scilly has been inhabited since the Stone Age, and until the early 20th century its history had been one of subsistence living, farming and fishing continue, but the main industry now is tourism. The islands may correspond to the Cassiterides visited by the Phoenicians, however, the archipelago itself does not contain much tin—it may be that the islands were used as a staging post. It is likely that until recent times the islands were much larger. The word Ennor is a contraction of the Old Cornish En Noer, remains of a prehistoric farm have been found on Nornour, which is now a small rocky skerry far too small for farming. There once was an Iron Age Britain community here that extended into Roman times and this community was likely formed by immigrants from Brittany, probably the Veneti who were active in the tin trade that originated in mining activity in Cornwall and Devon. At certain low tides the sea becomes shallow enough for people to walk between some of the islands and this is possibly one of the sources for stories of drowned lands, e. g. Lyonesse. Ancient field walls are visible below the tide line off some of the islands. Some of the Cornish language place names appear to reflect past shorelines. The whole of southern England has been sinking in opposition to post-glacial rebound in Scotland, this has caused the rias on the southern Cornish coast, e. g. River Fal. Scilly has been identified as the place of exile of two heretical 4th century bishops, Instantius and Tiberianus, who were followers of Priscillian, in 995, Olaf Tryggvason became King Olaf I of Norway. 960, Olaf had raided various European cities and fought in several wars, in 986 he met a Christian seer on the Isles of Scilly
5.
Anne, Queen of Great Britain
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Anne became Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Acts of Union, two of her realms, the kingdoms of England and Scotland, united as a sovereign state known as Great Britain. She continued to reign as Queen of Great Britain and Ireland until her death, Anne was born in the reign of her uncle Charles II, who had no legitimate children. Her father, James, was first in line to the throne and his suspected Roman Catholicism was unpopular in England, and on Charless instructions Anne was raised as an Anglican. Three years after he succeeded Charles, James was deposed in the Glorious Revolution of 1688, Annes Dutch Protestant brother-in-law and cousin William III became joint monarch with his wife, Annes elder sister Mary II. Although the sisters had been close, disagreements over Annes finances, status and choice of acquaintances arose shortly after Marys accession, William and Mary had no children. After Marys death in 1694, William continued as sole monarch until he was succeeded by Anne upon his death in 1702, as queen, Anne favoured moderate Tory politicians, who were more likely to share her Anglican religious views than their opponents, the Whigs. The Whigs grew more powerful during the course of the War of the Spanish Succession and her close friendship with Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, turned sour as the result of political differences. Anne was plagued by ill health throughout her life, from her thirties onwards, she grew increasingly lame and obese. Despite seventeen pregnancies by her husband, Prince George of Denmark, she died without any surviving children and was the last monarch of the House of Stuart. Anne was born at 11,39 p. m. on 6 February 1665 at St Jamess Palace, London, the child and second daughter of James, Duke of York. At her Anglican baptism in the Chapel Royal at St Jamess, her sister, Mary, was one of her godparents, along with the Duchess of Monmouth. The Duke and Duchess of York had eight children, but Anne, as a child, Anne suffered from an eye condition, which manifested as excessive watering known as defluxion. For medical treatment, she was sent to France, where she lived with her grandmother, Queen Henrietta Maria. Following her grandmothers death in 1669, Anne lived with an aunt, Henrietta Anne, on the sudden death of her aunt in 1670, Anne returned to England. Her mother died the following year, as was traditional in the royal family, Anne and her sister were brought up separated from their father in their own establishment at Richmond, London. On the instructions of Charles II, they were raised as Protestants, placed in the care of Colonel Edward and Lady Frances Villiers, their education was focused on the teachings of the Anglican church. Henry Compton, Bishop of London, was appointed as Annes preceptor, around 1671, Anne first made the acquaintance of Sarah Jennings, who later became her close friend and one of her most influential advisors
6.
John Harrison
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John Harrison was a self-educated English carpenter and clockmaker who invented the marine chronometer, a long-sought-after device for solving the problem of calculating longitude while at sea. His solution revolutionized navigation and greatly increased the safety of long-distance sea travel, the problem he solved was considered so important following the Scilly naval disaster of 1707 that the British Parliament offered financial rewards of up to £20,000 under the 1714 Longitude Act. Harrison came 39th in the BBCs 2002 public poll of the 100 Greatest Britons, John Harrison was born in Foulby, near Wakefield in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the first of five children in his family. His father worked as a carpenter at the nearby Nostell Priory estate, a house on the site of what may have been the family home bears a blue plaque. In around 1700, the Harrison family moved to the Lincolnshire village of Barrow upon Humber, following his fathers trade as a carpenter, Harrison built and repaired clocks in his spare time. Legend has it that at the age of six, while in bed with smallpox, he was given a watch to amuse himself and he spent hours listening to it and he also had a fascination for music, eventually becoming choirmaster for Barrow parish church. Harrison built his first longcase clock in 1713, at the age of 20, the mechanism was made entirely of wood, which was a natural choice of material for a joiner. The second is also in the Science Museum in London, and the third is at Nostell Priory in Yorkshire, in the early 1720s, Harrison was commissioned to make a new turret clock at Brocklesby Park, North Lincolnshire. The clock still works, and like his previous clocks has a movement of oak. Unlike his early clocks, it incorporates some features to improve timekeeping. Between 1725 and 1728, John and his brother James, also a skilled joiner, the grid-iron pendulum was developed during this period. These precision clocks are thought by some to have been the most accurate clocks in the world at the time and they are the direct link to the Harrisons sea clocks. Number 1, now in a collection, belonged to the Time Museum, USA, until the museum closed in 2000. Number 2 is in the Leeds City Museum, Number 3 is in the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers collection. Harrison was a man of many skills and he used these to improve the performance of the pendulum clock. He invented the pendulum, consisting of alternating brass and iron rods assembled so that the thermal expansions and contractions essentially cancel each other out. Another example of his genius was the grasshopper escapement – a control device for the step-by-step release of a clocks driving power. Developed from the escapement, it was almost frictionless, requiring no lubrication because the pallets were made from wood
7.
Tobias Mayer
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Tobias Mayer was a German astronomer famous for his studies of the Moon. He was born at Marbach, in Württemberg, and brought up at Esslingen in poor circumstances, a self-taught mathematician, he earned a living by teaching mathematics while still a youth. He had already published two original geometrical works when, in 1746, he entered J. B. Homanns cartographic establishment at Nuremberg. Here he introduced improvements in mapmaking, and gained a scientific reputation which led to his election to the chair of economy. In 1754 he became superintendent of the observatory, where he worked until his death in 1762 and his first important astronomical work was a careful investigation of the libration of the moon, and his chart of the full moon was unsurpassed for half a century. But his fame rests chiefly on his tables, communicated in 1752, with new solar tables to the Königliche Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen. In 1755 he submitted to the British government an amended body of manuscript tables and he found these to be sufficiently accurate to determine the moons position to 5, and consequently the longitude at sea to about half a degree. An improved set was published in London, as also the theory upon which the tables are based. His widow, with whom they were sent to England, received in consideration from the British government a grant of £3,000, Mayer left behind him a considerable quantity of manuscript material, part of which was collected by G. C. Lichtenberg and published in one volume, the remaining manuscripts included papers on atmospheric refraction from 1755, on the motion of Mars as affected by the perturbations of Jupiter and the Earth, and on terrestrial magnetism. In 1881 Ernst Klinkerfues published photo-lithographic reproductions of Mayers local charts and his star catalogue was re-edited by Francis Baily in 1830 and by Arthur Auwers in 1894. His son Johann Tobias Mayer became a noted German physicist, VI,746,1039 Siegmund Günther, Mayer, Johann Tobias, Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie,21, Leipzig, Duncker & Humblot, pp. 109–116 Ripley, George, Dana, Charles A. eds. Attribution This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain. Eric G. Forbes, Tobias Mayer, pioneer of enlightened science in Germany, Göttingen, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht,1980 ISBN 3-525-85268-1 German edition as, Tobias Mayer, Pionier der Naturwissenschaften der deutschen Aufklärungszeit übers. von Maria Forbes u. Hans-Heinrich Vogt. Marbach am Neckar, Tobias-Mayer-Museum-Verein,1993 Sarah Lowengard, Tobias Mayers Trichromatic Graph, The Creation of Color in Eighteenth-Century Europe New York, Columbia University Press,2006. Http, //www. gutenberg-e. org/lowengard/A_Chap03. html#31 Tobias Mayer, Tobias Mayers Opera inedita, London, Macmillan,1971 ISBN 0-333-12743-9 (American ed. New York, American Elsevier,1971 ISBN 0-444-19578-5 Tobias Mayer, ISBN 3-525-85257-6, ISBN 3-525-85258-4, ISBN 3-525-85259-2 The Euler-Mayer correspondence, 1751-1755, a new perspective on eighteenth-century advances in the lunar theory, by Eric G. Forbes. London, Macmillan,1971 ISBN 0-333-12742-0 OConnor, John J. Robertson, Edmund F. Tobias Mayer, MacTutor History of Mathematics archive, entry in the Mathematics Genealogy Project
