1790/12/31 by William Roy · 4 citations
Physics and Astronomy · Social Sciences · Arts and Humanities · Mathematics · #History and Developments in Astronomy #Historical Geography and Cartography #History of Science and Natural History #Greenwich #Majesty #State (computer science) #Law #Astronomer #Subject (documents) #History #Classics #Art history #Mathematics #Political science #Computer science #Library science #Geology #Algorithm
paper · pdf · doi:10.1098/rstl.1790.0015
openalex publication_date 1790/12/31 · openalex created_date 2022/05/12 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
The trigonometrical operation which becomes the subject of the present Paper, had is commencement, as will be remembered, in the measurement of a base on Hounslow Heath in 1784, an account of which was given to the Royal Society in the following year. On the completion of that first part of the business, it was little expected, that nearly three full years would have elapsed before, even in this country, an instrument could be obtained for taking the angles! In the spring of 1787, there were indeed appearances, that Mr. Ramsden would have enabled us to embrace the early part of the season, by proceeding with the execution of the main design; and therefore Sir Joseph Banks had opened (through the official intercourse of his Majesty's Secretary of State, the Marquis of Carmarthen, with the Ambassador at the Court of France) a correspondence with the Academy of Sciences, regarding the co-operation expected on their part, for connecting the triangles which we were now preparing to extend along the English coast, with those formerly executed on the coast of France, opposite to Dover.