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Papers of the Board of Longitude : Confirmed minutes of the Board of Longitude, 1780-1801

Papers of the Board of Longitude

<p style='text-align: justify;'>Minutes of the meetings of the Board of Longitude covering the period 1780 to 1801. These minutes help to give a sense of the diversity of issues covered during such meetings. A single session could see discussion moving from the cost of publishing the Nautical Almanac to the logistics of trialling timekeepers, to the payments due to astronomers' widows. Most meetings also record the reading of letters sent to the Board proposing solutions to the problem of finding longitude at sea. The original copies of many of these letters, such as Heinrich Schultze's proposal for an improved octant <a href='/view/MS-RGO-00014-00034'>[RGO 14/34:10]</a>, can be found in the correspondence volumes.</p><p style='text-align: justify;'>One particularly common topic of discussion is that of printing and publication. The Board took a very active role in this respect, even agonising over the title page of their publication of Captain Cook [<a target='_blank' class='externalLink' href='http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/107028.html'><img title="Link to RMG" alt='RMG icon' class='nmm_icon' src='/images/general/nmm_small.png'/></a>]'s first voyage. In one meeting of 15th August 1789 the Astronomer Royal goes as far as to convince the Board that the Nautical Almanac should be printed on 'sufficiently fine' <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(287);return false;'>[2:141]</a> letter paper. Other reports further emphasise just how much the quality of printing mattered to the Board. High-quality printing helped to convey status, but it was also important for ensuring the durability of publications at sea. In fact, in 1787 the Board received a letter from Lieutenant Dawes of HMS Sirius [<a target='_blank' class='externalLink' href='http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/106266.html'><img title="Link to RMG" alt='RMG icon' class='nmm_icon' src='/images/general/nmm_small.png'/></a>] complaining that his astronomical tables had been damaged by salt water.</p><p style='text-align: justify;'>The storage of publications also proved a recurring issue for the Board. In 1780 they resolved to increase the print run of the Nautical Almanac to 1250 copies for the coming year. The Board then considered the pros and cons of acquiring a warehouse for storing the increased volume of publications. They eventually decided to give the bookseller Peter Elmsly of the Strand wholesale rights to the Board's works on condition that he provided a warehouse. However, by 1787 the Board discovered that the house in which some of these publications had been stored was due to be repossessed. Fearing for 'the safety of the printed and unprinted papers' <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(253);return false;'>[2:107]</a> the Commissioners resolved to move the materials to their own private warehouse.</p><p style='text-align: justify;'>The management of astronomical instruments owned by the Board raised similar logistical challenges. In early 1781 the Board faced a major storage problem. They had been keeping a number of instruments in the cupola of the Chapel of Greenwich Hospital [<a target='_blank' class='externalLink' href='http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/106328.html'><img title="Link to RMG" alt='RMG icon' class='nmm_icon' src='/images/general/nmm_small.png'/></a>]. This had recently burnt down and they needed a new secure storage location. Connections to other learned societies proved key, with Joseph Banks [<a target='_blank' class='externalLink' href='http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/107455.html'><img title="Link to RMG" alt='RMG icon' class='nmm_icon' src='/images/general/nmm_small.png'/></a>] organising for the instruments <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(181);return false;'>[2:35]</a> to be kept in a warehouse owned by the Royal Society.</p><p style='text-align: justify;'>These local logistical challenges certainly occupied a great deal of the Board's time. But the Board's remit also extended globally. They regularly lent timekeepers, sextants, compasses and copies of astronomical tables to navigators and astronomers travelling around the world aboard Royal Navy vessels. In order to keep track of all these items, the Board initiated a receipt system. The minute books record the issuing of these receipts alongside the loan of instruments including an achromatic telescope to Admiral Campbell for his voyage to St John's, Newfoundland and a transit instrument to Lieutenant Dawes at Port Jackson, New South Wales. Getting these instruments back was not always easy. In 1792 the Board wrote to the Governor of Sydney, New South Wales in order to arrange the return of instruments <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(330);return false;'>[2:184]</a> loaned to the captain of the HMS Sirius. They also recorded receiving a letter <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(307);return false;'>[2:161]</a> in 1790 from William Bligh [<a target='_blank' class='externalLink' href='http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/107428.html'><img title="Link to RMG" alt='RMG icon' class='nmm_icon' src='/images/general/nmm_small.png'/></a>], the commander of the infamous HMS Bounty [<a target='_blank' class='externalLink' href='http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/149152.html'><img title="Link to RMG" alt='RMG icon' class='nmm_icon' src='/images/general/nmm_small.png'/></a>], reporting that the timekeeper he had been lent by the Board had been stolen by the mutineers aboard his ship. It was another 18 years before it could be recovered from the Pitcairn Islands in the Pacific Ocean.</p><p style='text-align: justify;'>James Poskett<br />History and Philosophy of Science<br />University of Cambridge<br /></p>

Page: 2:252

Confirmed minutes of the Board of Longitude, 1780-1801 (RGO 14/6)

Minutes of the meetings of the Board of Longitude covering the period 1780 to 1801. These minutes help to give a sense of the diversity of issues covered during such meetings. A single session could see discussion moving from the cost of publishing the Nautical Almanac to the logistics of trialling timekeepers, to the payments due to astronomers' widows. Most meetings also record the reading of letters sent to the Board proposing solutions to the problem of finding longitude at sea. The original copies of many of these letters, such as Heinrich Schultze's proposal for an improved octant [RGO 14/34:10], can be found in the correspondence volumes.

One particularly common topic of discussion is that of printing and publication. The Board took a very active role in this respect, even agonising over the title page of their publication of Captain Cook [RMG icon]'s first voyage. In one meeting of 15th August 1789 the Astronomer Royal goes as far as to convince the Board that the Nautical Almanac should be printed on 'sufficiently fine' [2:141] letter paper. Other reports further emphasise just how much the quality of printing mattered to the Board. High-quality printing helped to convey status, but it was also important for ensuring the durability of publications at sea. In fact, in 1787 the Board received a letter from Lieutenant Dawes of HMS Sirius [RMG icon] complaining that his astronomical tables had been damaged by salt water.

The storage of publications also proved a recurring issue for the Board. In 1780 they resolved to increase the print run of the Nautical Almanac to 1250 copies for the coming year. The Board then considered the pros and cons of acquiring a warehouse for storing the increased volume of publications. They eventually decided to give the bookseller Peter Elmsly of the Strand wholesale rights to the Board's works on condition that he provided a warehouse. However, by 1787 the Board discovered that the house in which some of these publications had been stored was due to be repossessed. Fearing for 'the safety of the printed and unprinted papers' [2:107] the Commissioners resolved to move the materials to their own private warehouse.

The management of astronomical instruments owned by the Board raised similar logistical challenges. In early 1781 the Board faced a major storage problem. They had been keeping a number of instruments in the cupola of the Chapel of Greenwich Hospital [RMG icon]. This had recently burnt down and they needed a new secure storage location. Connections to other learned societies proved key, with Joseph Banks [RMG icon] organising for the instruments [2:35] to be kept in a warehouse owned by the Royal Society.

These local logistical challenges certainly occupied a great deal of the Board's time. But the Board's remit also extended globally. They regularly lent timekeepers, sextants, compasses and copies of astronomical tables to navigators and astronomers travelling around the world aboard Royal Navy vessels. In order to keep track of all these items, the Board initiated a receipt system. The minute books record the issuing of these receipts alongside the loan of instruments including an achromatic telescope to Admiral Campbell for his voyage to St John's, Newfoundland and a transit instrument to Lieutenant Dawes at Port Jackson, New South Wales. Getting these instruments back was not always easy. In 1792 the Board wrote to the Governor of Sydney, New South Wales in order to arrange the return of instruments [2:184] loaned to the captain of the HMS Sirius. They also recorded receiving a letter [2:161] in 1790 from William Bligh [RMG icon], the commander of the infamous HMS Bounty [RMG icon], reporting that the timekeeper he had been lent by the Board had been stolen by the mutineers aboard his ship. It was another 18 years before it could be recovered from the Pitcairn Islands in the Pacific Ocean.

James Poskett
History and Philosophy of Science
University of Cambridge

Section shown in images 147 to 511

  • Title: Minutes

Section shown in images 390 to 398

  • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 6.th of June, 1795

Section shown in images 398 to 402

  • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 5.th of December 1795

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Index to Minutes (image 7, page 1:2r) Minutes (image 147, page 2:1)     Minutes of a meeting held on 4th March 1780 (image 147, page 2:1)     Minutes of a meeting held on 15th Iuly 1780 (image 152, page 2:6)     Minutes of a meeting held on 4th of November 1780 (image 156, page 2:10)     Minutes of a meeting held on 3d March 1781 (image 161, page 2:15)     Minutes of a meeting held on 21st Iuly 1781 (image 171, page 2:25)     Minutes of a meeting held on 1st December 1781 (image 174, page 2:28)     Minutes of a meeting held on 2d March 1782 (image 177, page 2:31)     Minutes of a meeting held on 13th Iuly 1782 (image 179, page 2:33)     Minutes of a meeting held on 7.th of December 1782. (image 184, page 2:38)     Minutes of a meeting held on 1.st of March 1783 (image 189, page 2:43)     Minutes of a meeting held on 19.th Iuly 1783 (image 195, page 2:49)     Minutes of a meeting held on 22d of November 1783 (image 200, page 2:54)     Minutes of a meeting held on 6th of March 1784 (image 204, page 2:58)     Minutes of a meeting held on 24th of August 1784 (image 210, page 2:64)     Minutes of a meeting held on 5th of February 1785 (image 219, page 2:73)     Minutes of a meeting held on 5th of March 1785 (image 224, page 2:78)     Minutes of a meeting held on 17th of August 1785 (image 228, page 2:82)     Minutes of a meeting held on 4th of February 1786 (image 234, page 2:88)     Minutes of a meeting held on 18th of Iuly 1786 (image 239, page 2:93)     Minutes of a meeting held on 14th of November 1786 (image 243, page 2:97)     Minutes of a meeting held on 3d of February 1787 (image 251, page 2:105)     Minutes of a meeting held on 21st of April 1787 (image 255, page 2:109)     Minutes of a meeting held on 8th of December 1787 (image 259, page 2:113)     Minutes of a meeting held on 1st of March 1788 (image 265, page 2:119)     Minutes of a meeting held on 12th of Iuly 1788 (image 273, page 2:127)     Minutes of a meeting held on 29th of November 1788 (image 276, page 2:130)     Minutes of a meeting held on 7th of March 1789 (image 280, page 2:134)     Minutes of a meeting held on 15th August 1789 (image 285, page 2:139)     Minutes of a meeting held on 5.th of December 1789 (image 290, page 2:144)     Minutes of a meeting held on 6.th of March 1790 (image 295, page 2:149)     Minutes of a meeting held on 5.th of Iune 1790 (image 302, page 2:156)     Minutes of a meeting held on 4.th of December 1790 (image 305, page 2:159)     Minutes of a meeting held on 5th of March 1791 (image 311, page 2:165)     Minutes of a meeting held on 11th of Iune 1791 (image 315, page 2:169)     Minutes of a meeting held on 3.d of December 1791 (image 321, page 2:175)     Minutes of a meeting held on 3d of March 1792 (image 325, page 2:179)     Minutes of a meeting held on 2d of Iune 1792 (image 330, page 2:184)     Minutes of a meeting held on 1.st of December 1792 (image 334, page 2:188)     Minutes of a meeting held on 2.d of March 1793 (image 338, page 2:192)     Minutes of a meeting held on 1.st of Iune 1793 (image 345, page 2:199)     Minutes of a meeting held on 7.th December 1793 (image 348, page 2:202)     Minutes of a meeting held on 1.st March 1794 (image 357, page 2:211)     Minutes of a meeting held on 7.th of Iune 1794 (image 363, page 2:217)     Minutes of a meeting held on 6.th of December 1794 (image 368, page 2:222)     Minutes of a meeting held on 7.th of March 1795 (image 380, page 2:234)     Minutes of a meeting held on 6.th of June, 1795 (image 390, page 2:244)     Minutes of a meeting held on 5.th of December 1795 (image 398, page 2:252)     Minutes of a meeting held on 5th of March 1796 (image 403, page 2:257)     Minutes of a meeting held on 11th of June, 1796 (image 406, page 2:260)     Minutes of a meeting held on 3rd of December, 1796 (image 417, page 2:271)     Minutes of a meeting held on 4th of March, 1797 (image 421, page 2:275)     Minutes of a meeting held on 3rd. of June, 1797 (image 425, page 2:279)     Minutes of a meeting held on 2d. day of December, 1797 (image 428, page 2:282)     Minutes of a meeting held on 3rd. of March, 1798 (image 431, page 2:285)

    Section shown in images 7 to 140

    • Title: Index to Minutes

    Section shown in images 147 to 511

    • Title: Minutes

    Section shown in images 147 to 151

    • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 4th March 1780

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    • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 15th Iuly 1780

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    • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 4th of November 1780

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    • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 3d March 1781

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    • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 21st Iuly 1781

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    • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 1st December 1781

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    • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 2d March 1782

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    • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 13th Iuly 1782

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    • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 7.th of December 1782.

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    • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 1.st of March 1783

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    • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 19.th Iuly 1783

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    • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 22d of November 1783

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    • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 6th of March 1784

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    • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 24th of August 1784

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    • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 5th of February 1785

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    • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 5th of March 1785

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    • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 17th of August 1785

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    • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 4th of February 1786

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    • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 18th of Iuly 1786

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    • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 14th of November 1786

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    • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 3d of February 1787

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    • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 21st of April 1787

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    • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 8th of December 1787

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    • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 1st of March 1788

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    • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 12th of Iuly 1788

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    • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 29th of November 1788

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    • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 7th of March 1789

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    • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 15th August 1789

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    • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 5.th of December 1789

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    • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 6.th of March 1790

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    • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 5.th of Iune 1790

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    • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 4.th of December 1790

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    • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 5th of March 1791

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    • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 11th of Iune 1791

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    • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 3.d of December 1791

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    • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 3d of March 1792

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    • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 2d of Iune 1792

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    • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 1.st of December 1792

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    • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 2.d of March 1793

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    • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 1.st of Iune 1793

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    • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 7.th December 1793

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    • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 1.st March 1794

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    • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 7.th of Iune 1794

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    • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 6.th of December 1794

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    • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 7.th of March 1795

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    • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 6.th of June, 1795

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    • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 5.th of December 1795

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    • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 5th of March 1796

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    • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 11th of June, 1796

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    • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 3rd of December, 1796

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    • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 4th of March, 1797

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    • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 3rd. of June, 1797

    Section shown in images 428 to 431

    • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 2d. day of December, 1797

    Section shown in images 431 to 434

    • Title: Minutes of a meeting held on 3rd. of March, 1798

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