Scope and Contents

There are Supplementary Acts regarding navigation and surveying the chief ports and headlands of Great Britain and Ireland; John Harrison and his chronometer; and discovering a northern passage between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and for making a journey to the North Pole.

Scope and Contents The log covers the period from 13 November 1763 - 15 August 1764, and includes observations of stars and planets and errors and adjustments to instruments and clocks. It mentions the arrival of John Harrison and his chronometers on board HMS 'Tartar' on 13 May 1764 [RGO 4/323: 15v], and includes ratings for these chronometers [RGO 4/323: 15v-16v]. The log also includes details of how and when the astronomer conveyed copies of his observations to Sir Philip Stephens, using different ships...

Scope and Contents Minutes of Board of Longitude meetings regarding, among other matters, discussions on John Harrison's first marine chronometer (H1); the purchase of new instruments for work on the longitude and latitude of the coasts of Britain; improvements to the reflecting telescope; Tobias Mayer's lunar motion tables; the trial of John Harrison's chronometers; errors in the tables of the satellites; Schutz's machine for finding longitude; Chistopher Irwin's marine chair; the use of lunar observations...

Scope and Contents Correspondence between the Hydrographer of the Navy, Sir Frank Dyson and Lieutenant-Commander R.T. Gould on the following subjects:1. The Astronomer Royal's permission for Gould to see the Board of Longitude papers.2. The preparation of Gould's book 'The Marine Chronometer'.3. The cleaning and repair of Harrison 1, 2, 3 and 4 by Gould, including a list of notebooks and papers relating to the Harrison chronometers which Gould presented to the National Maritime...

Scope and Contents Miscellaneous correspondence concerning chronometers:Letter from Yarrow and Co. Ltd requesting that Lieutenant J. Znierkonski be granted permission to compare the rates of chronometers belonging to two Austrian torpedo boats, 'Huzar' and 'Kaiman', at the Royal Observatory, 1905.Telegram from the Navigating Officer of HMS 'Victoria and Albert' requesting information on chronometer error and Greenwich Mean Time, 1905.Correspondence with the Naval Store Officer...

Scope and Contents Correspondence concerning chronometers, including a ledger titled 'Instructions and precedents relating to the Time and Chronometer Branch', containing letters and instructions regarding chronometers; correspondence relating to a water clock, with a map of the water supply to the clock; and correspondence with Lieutenant-Commander R.T. Gould on the repair, cleaning, insurance, exhibition and storage of the John Harrison chronometers, Nos 1, 2, 3 and 4, with a reprint of an article by Gould...

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Correspondence with the National Maritime Museum, including correspondence with Mr Carr concerning his visit to the U.S.A.; correspondence with the Science Museum Advisory Council regarding a collection of historical aircraft and an exhibition of rockets; correspondence concerning Sheepshank's Equatorial; and correspondence on the bi-centenary of the trial of Harrison's No. 4.

Scope and Contents Correspondence regarding accounts held with various tradesmen:Section (i)Correspondence with tradesmen concerning the settlement of bills and accounts for repairs to buildings, instruments and stationery, 1908.Estimate from Williams and Norgate for supplying millimetre paper, 1894.Correspondence with Bernard Quaritch concerning the purchases of books, 1894.Bill from Gridley and Ford for the carriage of parcels, 1894.Bill from H.J. Smith for...

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A set of drawings of a chronometer by John Harrison. RGO 116/8/3 is by Thomas Bradley.

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Extracts from the Minutes of the Board of Longitude, including the findings on John Harrison's chronometers.

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General correspondence with Queen Mary College, London; Australian correspondents; and others. The subjects include stocks and shares and a foreword written by Sir Richard Woolley for a book on John Harrison by Colonel H. Quill.

Scope and Contents Photostats of a manuscript written by John Harrison in 1730 concerning the construction of his first marine chronometer. The document describes the problem of finding longitude at sea, the solution of using a marine timekeeper, the accuracy of contemporary clocks, errors in pendulum regulators and their correction, and the effects of temperature on clocks. It continues with notes on the construction of Harrison's chronometer, including the theory employed and compensations introduced. There...

Scope and Contents

Presentation pack containing four stamps of John Harrison’s Marine Timekeeper No.4 (24p, 28p, 33p and 39p) and a Harrison information sheet.

Also, first day cover with printed images of Harrison and a ship at sea; the four 'Marine Timekeepers’ stamps are affixed and postmarked by the British Philatelic Bureau, Edinburgh.

Scope and Contents From the Series: The collection contains a complete set of astronomical observation ledgers, with clock error notes, computation ledgers, star catalogues, weather records and correspondence. There are observations of comets, including measurements taken of Encke's Comet, 1828, and Halley's Comet, 1835, and observations of rockets, made with Sir James South in 1831. The papers include Pond's measurements for his work on the proper motions of stars, stellar parallax and other subjects, as well as substantial...

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The draft letter is addressed to 'My Lord' and is a response to John Harrison's applications to the Board of Longitude and to Parliament to get a second £10,000 in reward money for his marine timekeepers. The letter continues with notes on longitude determination and marine timekeepers by other makers.

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Letter concerning his solution for finding longitude, in which Judson makes reference to [John] Harrison's timepiece.

Scope and Contents From the Sub-file:

Two letters and a plan submitted by Gillespie to the Board of Longitude, with copies of two letters of reply from Thomas Hurd.

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The log book of HMS Resolution compiled by William Wales during the passage to the South Seas under the command of Captain James Cook.

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A log book by Maskelyne of a voyage to Barbados, split into three parts.

Scope and Contents Bound extracts from 'The Observatory', No. 687, August 1931, pp. 213-216; No. 699, August 1932, p. 236; and No. 709, June 1933, pp 193-196, regarding John Harrison's chronometers. In a pocket at the front of the booklet are postcard photographs of Harrison's first, second and third marine timekeepers, and various letters to Melotte dated 1942-1948. In a pocket at the back are five photographs of Harrison's timekeepers and of a copy by Larcum Kendall, and a letter from Kathleen Melotte, 26...

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A record of observations at sea with calculations and notes, including notes on observations of Jupiter's satellites and on his chronometers during his voyage to Barbados [to test John Harrison's chronometer H4].

Scope and Contents (1) Correspondence, 1834-1895Correspondence regarding J.C. Adams and other subjects, as follows:Index to correspondence, 1895.C. Taylor's suggestion of a memorial to J.C. Adams at Westminster Abbey, 1892.D. McAlister's proposal for a publication of J.C. Adams's papers, with lists of important correspondence, 1892-1893.Notes on correspondence in the Royal Observatory records regarding the search for Neptune, 1834.Notes from J.F.W. Hershel's...

Scope and Contents Memoranda and notes to staff concerning portable instruments and property of the Royal Observatory, 1875-1882.Letter of thanks to the Director of the Science Museum for the gift of a photograph of Harrison's chronometer No. 2, 1928.Correspondence with the State Research Institute of Geodesy and Cartography, Moscow, concerning an exchange of almanacs, 1933.Correspondence with Lord Bishop of Guildford, 1934, concerning his presentation of two sketches of the Royal...

Scope and Contents From the File:

A rough copy of observations of major stars made in 1758 and on a voyage of 1764. The volume includes adjustments to the barometer and atmospheric conditions, 1758; calculations of star positions; the longitude of various foreign towns; corrections to the sextant and quadrant; and calculations to discover longitude.

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'Notes on the Ownership of John Harrison's Timekeepers', a 9-page typescript by R.T. Gould, dated at the end 10 May 1937.