4 ms·
In addition to the other replies to your post which make valid points, you have to remember that Harrison was a self-educated carpenter and clockmaker. The Long
by keithpeter 12y ago
In addition to the other replies to your post which make valid points, you have to remember that Harrison was a self-educated carpenter and clockmaker. The Longitude Committee was composed of the great and the good, and preferred the lunar distance method for getting the longitude at sea.
Edit: child post points out the Longitude Board's examination of Harrison's watches for finding the longitude at sea was much earlier than the publication of Harrison's book. Wikipedia page has the time-line.
- gaius 12y agoYou've got your timeline mixed up - by the time the book was published, the committee had fully accepted the clocks and showered Harrison with awards.
- keithpeter 12y agoThe watches? I recollect that Harrison was in dispute with the committee for decades, resolved only by the direct intervention of the king? He never received the full longitude prize that I am aware of. Would welcome correction.
- iwwr 12y agoHowever, clocks were expensive to manufacture and few ships had them. The lunar distance method was a mainstay of navigation until the latter 19th century.