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Confirmed minutes, 1780 - 1801

 File
Reference Code: GBR/0180/RGO 14/6
Confirmed minutes of the Board of Longitude, 1780-1801
Confirmed minutes of the Board of Longitude, 1780-1801

Scope and Contents

Minutes of Board of Longitude meetings regarding, among other matters, the rates of various chronometers; Charles Hutton's tables of products, powers and roots of natural numbers; the voyages of HMS 'Resolution' and HMS 'Discovery' and the examination of their log books; John Arnold's improvements to his watches; a suitable site for the Board of Longitude's instruments after the burning of the cupola of the Greenwich Hospital where they had been kept; improvements to reflecting telescopes; the printing and publication of the observations and results obtained on Captain Cook's last voyage; Robert Blair's method of adjusting John Hadley's quadrant; the production of the 'Nautical Almanac'; experiments into the variations of compasses; lunar observations made in the East Indies; the instruction of the masters of the Royal Navy vessels in the use of the 'Nautical Almanac' and John Hadley's quadrant; a method of finding longitude by the Moon's passage over the meridian; correspondence with the Marquis de Condorcet of the Académie des Sciences, Paris; instruments to be lent for the making of the astronomical observations at Botany Bay; the loan of a timekeeper to HMS 'Sirius'; the observations made during the second voyage of HMS 'Dolphin'; an atlas of the Spanish Mediterranean from the Royal Observatory at Cadiz; Grenier's improved pendulum; a paper from Dr Higgins on the making of glass suitable for acromatic telescopes; a letter from Captain William Bligh regarding the loss of a chronometer after the mutiny on HMS 'Bounty'; work on magnetism; the survey of the north-west coast of America to be carried out by HMS 'Hecla' and HMS 'Griper'; the purchase of an altitude and azimuth instrument; the method of obtaining latitude by observing two altitudes of the Sun and the interval of time between them, invented by José Mendoza de Ríos; the invention of an artificial horizon by Henry Ould; the trial of two watches by Thomas Earnshaw; the loan of a time-keeper to Lord Hood; Thomas Mudge's petition to the House of Commons for reward, relating to his work on the construction of chronometers; an invention by Joseph Martin to show the real motion of the Earth and the cause of tides; the appointment of John Crosley as astronomical observer on expeditions to the north-west coast of America; a treatise on magnetism by Ralph Walker; a letter from Captain George Vancouver on the observations obtained during his voyage to the north-west coast of America; the invention of an instrument by J. Leslie for detecting moisture in the atmosphere; an account of and details relating to the bankruptcy of the Board of Longitude's printer, Christopher Buckton; William Dawes' observations in New South Wales; a deficiency of the Board's publications in the Library of the British Museum; the voyage of John Crosley to Australia; and various bills and accounts with tradesmen, including printers, booksellers and clock- and chronometer-makers.

Dates

  • 1780 - 1801

Conditions Governing Access

Unless restrictions apply, the collection is open for consultation by researchers using the Manuscripts Reading Room at Cambridge University Library. For further details on conditions governing access please contact mss@lib.cam.ac.uk. Information about opening hours and obtaining a Cambridge University Library reader's ticket is available from the Library's website (www.lib.cam.ac.uk).

Extent

1 volume(s) (1 volume)

Language of Materials

English

Former / Other Reference

Vol. VI

Original geographic information

Australia [subject]

Original geographic information

Botany Bay [subject]

Original geographic information

East Indies [subject]

Original geographic information

New South Wales [subject]

Original geographic information

Newfoundland [subject]

Original geographic information

North America [subject]

Original geographic information

Port Jackson [subject]

Original geographic information

Saint John's [subject]

Finding aid date

2006-05-02 10:24:28+00:00

Includes index.

Creator

Repository Details

Part of the Cambridge University Library Repository

Contact:
Cambridge University Library
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