{"id":1472,"date":"2021-04-20T14:31:51","date_gmt":"2021-04-20T13:31:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.control-g.co.uk\/sciencetourist\/?p=1472"},"modified":"2025-05-01T17:21:19","modified_gmt":"2025-05-01T16:21:19","slug":"review-of-finding-longitude-how-ships-clocks-and-stars-helped-solve-the-longitude-problem-by-richard-dunn-and-rebekah-higgitt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.control-g.co.uk\/sciencetourist\/2021\/04\/20\/review-of-finding-longitude-how-ships-clocks-and-stars-helped-solve-the-longitude-problem-by-richard-dunn-and-rebekah-higgitt\/","title":{"rendered":"Review of ‘Finding Longitude – How Ships, Clocks and Stars Helped Solve The Longitude Problem’<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Richard Dunn and Rebekah Higgitt<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Cover Art for ‘Finding Longitude’<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Richard Dunn and Rebekah Higgitt<\/p>\n\n\n

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In the current pandemic, the Scientific Tourist is restricted to armchair travel, but can at least anticipate future trips and reflect on previous travels.\u00a0 This book is excellent as preparation for visiting Greenwich<\/a>, and reading about the voyages of those truly great scientific tourists who explored and mapped our world, at least partly in the name of science, is both inspiring and informative.<\/p>\n

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For anyone who prefers actual scholarship to populist dramatic narrative, then this is the book that Dava Sobel’s ‘Longitude’<\/a><\/em> should have been.\u00a0 Written by experts at the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich<\/a> for a major 2014 exhibition commemorating the tercentenary of the establishment of the Longitude Prize, it combines both historical and scientific perspectives with the detailed, objective accuracy any serious student (and Scientific Tourist) would expect.\u00a0 It is therefore much wider in scope than Sobel’s book.<\/p>\n

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The importance of understanding the story and events surrounding the search for a means of discovering the longitude at sea cannot be exaggerated.\u00a0 It goes far beyond the particular problem.\u00a0 This was a salient moment in the history of science, perhaps as significant as any other since.\u00a0 It set the stage for scientific progress to this day. And not just science; this was a problem of enormous historical importance upon which the future course of world history depended.\u00a0 It deserves the most careful and profound examination for what it can tell us about scientific progress and its civilizational context.<\/p>\n

For the Scientific Tourist, here is a story that encompasses the whole world, as the Age of Discovery merges with the Age of Enlightenment. \u00a0It sets the stage for the exploration of both the geographical globe and the world of science, and features some of the immortal pioneers of both worlds.\u00a0 It cannot fail to inspire one to explore further into both the physical and intellectual realms.\u00a0 For me personally, the connections with Greenwich, near where I grew up, make it seem all the more real and intimate while revealing ever greater depths of understanding and ever wider vistas of adventure.<\/p>\n

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\"Astronomer<\/a>\n
The Astronomer Royal’s Balcony and the 1pm time-ball used by ships to set their chronometers<\/em><\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

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I won’t repeat here the background and explanations I have already given in my review of Longitude<\/a><\/em>, instead I concentrate on a comparison of the two books.<\/p>\n

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Finding Longitude<\/em> focuses on the period from immediately prior to the first Longitude Act of 1714\u00a0to the widespread adoption of astronomical and mechanical techniques; roughly from 1680 to around 1830.\u00a0 It follows the arguments and experiments of the major players, concentrating justifiably on the British scene as the nation rose to maritime ascendancy, but not neglecting the rest of the world. \u00a0It gives a well-balanced summation of the scientific, technical and social issues, with enough historical evidence to give a fair account of the main players’ roles, actions and attitudes.\u00a0 Harrison and his tale are not neglected, but are seen in perspective as less central to the story.\u00a0 The contribution of mechanical timepieces (and Harrison’s contributions in particular) are shown to be less significant to solving the problem of longitude than advances in astronomical theory and observation (and organising and publishing results), and advances in instrument manufacture and use.<\/p>\n

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Finding Longitude<\/em> clearly shows how the various contributions of the time (government funding and setting of goals, creation of institutions dedicated to science and technology, the role of education and training in adoption of novel technologies – especially by the military, the contributions of both blue sky and goal-driven research, the publishing, collaboration and sharing of information) all played a part, not only then but how they became a template for the achievement of aims beyond the scope of even the brightest and most dedicated individuals.<\/p>\n

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Let no-one imagine I am detracting from Harrison’s remarkable achievements, but notwithstanding the simplistic Hollywood-ish mythology of Sobel’s version, real-world science and technology do not proceed from a solitary genius making discoveries out of the blue[Endnote]<\/a>.\u00a0 The reality is never so simplistic nor so random.\u00a0 In fact, many factors and actors have to come together to realise an idea or discovery when its time has come.\u00a0 This book explores that complex interplay of forces and events, puts them into historical context, and proves both far more interesting and enlightening, and rather more truthful, than Sobel’s.\u00a0 In particular, her vilification of Maskelyne, Newton and several others seems rather unjustified.<\/p>\n

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\"Portrait<\/a>\n
Portrait of Nevill Maskelyne, Astronomer Royal – Perhaps not quite the villain?<\/em><\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

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Harrison’s personal story is no less intriguing than Einstein’s in that it was the story of an outsider triumphing over the professionals, and upsetting the counsels of the great and the good.\u00a0 Again, though, Sobel’s narrative of lone individual ignored and mistreated by the great does not stand up under historical scrutiny.\u00a0 Nor does her implication that Harrison solved the problem all by himself and that his was the contribution that pervaded.<\/p>\n

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Without glossing over the scientific and historical context too much, Harrison was not the cruelly mistreated underdog that Sobel would have you believe, nor were the great and the good of the time quite the villains determined to do him down out of dishonourable motives.\u00a0 Harrison may have felt ill-used, as his chronometers did work, eventually, but they were both impracticably expensive and delicate, not to mention irreproducible, and so did not satisfy the requirements of the Act for a useful solution to the longitude problem.\u00a0 Harrison was, despite all his ill-feeling, very well rewarded and compensated for his lifetime’s work.<\/p>\n

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Let’s not be too harsh to Dava Sobel.\u00a0 After all, her rather imaginative<\/em> book probably did bring the whole subject of the longitude to the attention of the less scientifically educated public, and without it, the exhibition about which Finding Longitude<\/em> was written would probably never have taken place – and almost certainly would not have received the financial support of a bank.\u00a0 And not everybody finds the details of science and the facts about its context and progress quite so fascinating as scholars do.\u00a0 So for these crumbs we must be suitably grateful.<\/p>\n

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In addition, it cannot be denied that Sobel’s prose is very slightly easier to read.\u00a0 Not that there is anything to criticise about Finding Longitude<\/em>, simply that the authors of Finding Longitude<\/em> are academics, not popularisers, and their style is somewhat wordier and less melodic.\u00a0 Their prose does not flow as ‘trippingly on the tongue<\/em>‘ as Sobel’s,\u00a0 but is both more careful and more densely packed with information. But this is a small price to pay for accuracy and substance, and a sentence in Finding Longitude<\/em> conveys more learning than a paragraph of Sobel’s.<\/p>\n

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This book also benefits from access to the enormous and outstanding collections of the National Maritime Museum (and several other learned British institutions) for a wealth of fascinating illustrations.\u00a0 Almost every page has some artefact, portrait, manuscript or map from the museum’s vast and eclectic collection, adding to one’s appreciation of the contemporary context. \u00a0Also, there are lots of quotes from the notables (and the more obscure) of the time, which are revealing and help add atmosphere.\u00a0\u00a0 The reader will find their appreciation of Greenwich much enhanced by what is presented here. Their understanding of the history of science, especially as it relates to history in general, will find much useful material, not to mention context, in this story.<\/p>\n

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NB. <\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0On a personal note, I have left my review of Sobel’s Longitude<\/em> as I originally wrote it, i.e. not updating it to reflect my revised opinion, only adding some notes to steer the reader in what I think is the right direction.\u00a0 At that time I was, as doubtless many others have been, rather carried away by the drama and had no reason to doubt Sobel’s version of the story. I should have been a little more sceptical and not have unquestioningly accepted a single source.\u00a0 There’s a lesson there, from which I hope to profit.\u00a0 I could have re-written my review with the benefit of hindsight, but I think that would be contrary to the true spirit of science.\u00a0 There is no shame in admitting that one was wrong, as long as one is prepared to adapt to new information and learn from the experience.<\/p>\n

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Details<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

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HarperCollins 2014
Richard Dunn and Rebekah Higgitt
ISBN: 9780007525867<\/p>\n

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Also published as Ships, Clocks, and Stars : The Quest for Longitude<\/em> ISBN\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 0062357174, 9780062357175<\/p>\n

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<\/a>Endnote Einstein was, without doubt, an exceptional theoretician, but anyone with any knowledge and understanding of the mathematics and physics of his time cannot doubt that the Theory of Relativity would have been discovered by someone else, sooner rather than later, if Albert had not had the spare time on his hands from his boring job at the Patents Office, and Harrison’s chronometers would have been developed by someone else within a few years had he not been so determined to make his fortune. Both Einstein and Harrison shared unprepossessing beginnings which no-one would have predicted would lead them to great success, but these biographical details, intriguing though they are, are ultimately just accidents compared to the great tide of progress.<\/p>\n

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There is a great danger here of generalising the exceptional and promoting a sad fallacy all too often promulgated by the cranks and charlatans and their dupes, i.e. the notion that any nonsense is equally worthy of consideration because the experts have been proven wrong before by a rank outsider. Alas, for every Harrison and Einstein whose labours bore exceptional fruit, there are a multitude whose fields remained barren and who died in disappointment and justified obscurity. For every 100 to 1 winner upsetting the bookies, there are mostly odds-on favourites paying for the turf accountant’s Bentley. As Shakespeare has it,<\/p>\n

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‘There is a tide in the affairs of men. <\/em>
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; <\/em>
Omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries. <\/em>
On such a full sea are we now afloat, <\/em>
And we must take the current when it serves, Or lose our ventures.’<\/em><\/p>\n

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Brutus: Julius Caesar
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Richard Dunn and Rebekah Higgitt Richard Dunn and Rebekah Higgitt In the current pandemic, the Scientific Tourist is restricted to armchair travel, but can at least anticipate future trips and reflect on previous travels.\u00a0 This book is excellent as preparation for visiting Greenwich, and reading about the voyages of those truly great scientific tourists who explored and mapped our world, at least partly in the name of science, is both inspiring and informative. For anyone who prefers actual scholarship to populist dramatic narrative, then this is the book that Dava Sobel’s ‘Longitude’ should have been.\u00a0 Written by experts at the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich for a major 2014 exhibition commemorating the tercentenary of the establishment of the Longitude Prize, … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,15,21,8,11,36,26,6,10,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1472","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-astronomy","category-books","category-greenwich","category-history","category-history-of-science","category-history-of-technology","category-people","category-places","category-science","category-technology"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6XHo8-nK","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":742,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.control-g.co.uk\/sciencetourist\/2016\/03\/25\/review-of-longitude-the-true-story-of-a-lone-genius-who-solved-the-greatest-scientific-problem-of-his-time-by-dava-sobel\/","url_meta":{"origin":1472,"position":0},"title":"Review of ‘Longitude – The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time’ by Dava Sobel","author":"ablockhead","date":"25th March 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Dava Sobel's popular little book (208 pages) is pretty much essential reading for any Scientific Tourist planning to visit Greenwich.\u00a0 Even if you are not, or if you have already been, I think it is still worth picking up this intriguing, easy to read tale as background reading.*\u00a0 At its\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Astronomy"","block_context":{"text":"Astronomy","link":"https:\/\/blogs.control-g.co.uk\/sciencetourist\/category\/astronomy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Cover for The Illustrated Longitude - Galleon foundering in heavy seas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.control-g.co.uk\/sciencetourist\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/03\/LongitudeCover800.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":690,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.control-g.co.uk\/sciencetourist\/2016\/03\/25\/royal-greenwich\/","url_meta":{"origin":1472,"position":1},"title":"Royal Greenwich","author":"ablockhead","date":"25th March 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Greenwich makes a great day out for both ordinary and scientific tourists, with a wealth of historical, cultural and architectural attractions, not to mention some of the best views in London. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It is, after all, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Its credentials as an unmissable destination for the Scientific Tourist\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Astronomy"","block_context":{"text":"Astronomy","link":"https:\/\/blogs.control-g.co.uk\/sciencetourist\/category\/astronomy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Wren's magnificent Naval Hospital frames Inigo Jones' Queens House and Wren's Royal Observatory atop the hill","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.control-g.co.uk\/sciencetourist\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/03\/Naval_College_Flamsteed_Greenwich-089.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.control-g.co.uk\/sciencetourist\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/03\/Naval_College_Flamsteed_Greenwich-089.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.control-g.co.uk\/sciencetourist\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/03\/Naval_College_Flamsteed_Greenwich-089.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.control-g.co.uk\/sciencetourist\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/03\/Naval_College_Flamsteed_Greenwich-089.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":454,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.control-g.co.uk\/sciencetourist\/2015\/02\/09\/review-of-the-hidden-landscape-a-journey-into-the-geological-past-by-richard-fortey\/","url_meta":{"origin":1472,"position":2},"title":"Review of ‘The Hidden Landscape \u2013 A Journey into the Geological Past’ by Richard Fortey. Bodley Head 1993, revised and extended in 2010.","author":"ablockhead","date":"9th February 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Geology and landscape are stalwart companions for the Scientific Tourist, and are intimately, inextricably related. \u00a0Their beauty and mystery appeal to the scientist as much as to the tourist, but it is only the Scientific Tourist who can appreciate their fascinating interconnectedness. This book explores the hidden landscape of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Books"","block_context":{"text":"Books","link":"https:\/\/blogs.control-g.co.uk\/sciencetourist\/category\/books\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Cover for Hardback Edition The Hidden Landscape - A Journey into the Geological Past","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.control-g.co.uk\/sciencetourist\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2015\/02\/Hidden-Landscape-Cover-Hi-Res-x1000.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.control-g.co.uk\/sciencetourist\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2015\/02\/Hidden-Landscape-Cover-Hi-Res-x1000.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.control-g.co.uk\/sciencetourist\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2015\/02\/Hidden-Landscape-Cover-Hi-Res-x1000.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.control-g.co.uk\/sciencetourist\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2015\/02\/Hidden-Landscape-Cover-Hi-Res-x1000.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":584,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.control-g.co.uk\/sciencetourist\/2015\/07\/07\/vienna\/","url_meta":{"origin":1472,"position":3},"title":"Vienna","author":"ablockhead","date":"7th July 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The Scientific Tourist very much enjoyed his brief visit to Vienna.\u00a0\u00a0 The city is everything a European capital should be;\u00a0 elegant, clean, safe, and devoted to knowledge and culture. \u00a0\u00a0 Grand but graceful buildings are set along wide, tree-lined boulevards, and even on the side streets the apartment blocks are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "History"","block_context":{"text":"History","link":"https:\/\/blogs.control-g.co.uk\/sciencetourist\/category\/history\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Iconic Ferris Wheel at Prater Park","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.control-g.co.uk\/sciencetourist\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2015\/07\/Prater-Wheel.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.control-g.co.uk\/sciencetourist\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2015\/07\/Prater-Wheel.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.control-g.co.uk\/sciencetourist\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2015\/07\/Prater-Wheel.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.control-g.co.uk\/sciencetourist\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2015\/07\/Prater-Wheel.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":217,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.control-g.co.uk\/sciencetourist\/2015\/01\/11\/hastings\/","url_meta":{"origin":1472,"position":4},"title":"Hastings","author":"ablockhead","date":"11th January 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Hastings is a small town on the South Coast of England where in 1066, as every British schoolboy knows, the English King Harold lost the eponymous battle and was killed, thereby allowing a successful Norman invasion. \u00a0\u00a0Actually, of course, the battle took place some miles away, at what is now\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hastings"","block_context":{"text":"Hastings","link":"https:\/\/blogs.control-g.co.uk\/sciencetourist\/category\/hastings\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Detail from the Bayeux Tapestry (c.1070) commemorating the last successful invasion of England, by Guillaume le B\u00e2tard (AKA William the Conqueror) in 1066. Halley's Comet is shown and was claimed as an good omen (by both sides!).","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.control-g.co.uk\/sciencetourist\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2015\/01\/BayuexComet2Resized.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.control-g.co.uk\/sciencetourist\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2015\/01\/BayuexComet2Resized.png?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.control-g.co.uk\/sciencetourist\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2015\/01\/BayuexComet2Resized.png?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.control-g.co.uk\/sciencetourist\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2015\/01\/BayuexComet2Resized.png?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":594,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.control-g.co.uk\/sciencetourist\/2015\/08\/03\/vienna-technical-museum\/","url_meta":{"origin":1472,"position":5},"title":"Vienna Technical Museum","author":"ablockhead","date":"3rd August 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The Vienna Technisches Museum is housed, in the usual Viennese custom, in a grand white building, but you enter it via an underground atrium that looks as though it was originally designed as a car park. Nonetheless, once inside, the usual combination of efficiency, friendliness and impressive public spaces are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "History"","block_context":{"text":"History","link":"https:\/\/blogs.control-g.co.uk\/sciencetourist\/category\/history\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Early X-Ray Machine","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.control-g.co.uk\/sciencetourist\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2015\/08\/OldMachineVandB246.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.control-g.co.uk\/sciencetourist\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2015\/08\/OldMachineVandB246.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.control-g.co.uk\/sciencetourist\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2015\/08\/OldMachineVandB246.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.control-g.co.uk\/sciencetourist\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2015\/08\/OldMachineVandB246.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.control-g.co.uk\/sciencetourist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1472","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.control-g.co.uk\/sciencetourist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.control-g.co.uk\/sciencetourist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.control-g.co.uk\/sciencetourist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.control-g.co.uk\/sciencetourist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1472"}],"version-history":[{"count":63,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.control-g.co.uk\/sciencetourist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1472\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2058,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.control-g.co.uk\/sciencetourist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1472\/revisions\/2058"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.control-g.co.uk\/sciencetourist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.control-g.co.uk\/sciencetourist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.control-g.co.uk\/sciencetourist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}