The Board of Longitude 1714-1828: Science, innovation and empire in the Georgian world
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Cambridge
Department Name: History and Philosophy Of Science
Abstract
The proposed project will result in the first comprehensive history of the British Board of Longitude, examining its changing role as an influential player in Georgian culture. As a collaboration between the Deparment of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge and the National Maritime Museum (NMM), the project will also have a range of outputs aimed at academic and broader audiences, including exhibitions and displays, talks and events, publications and web resources.
The project research will bring together two unique resources. The Board of Longitude papers in Cambridge University Library offer rich but underused evidence of British ingenuity and invention during the industrial revolution. They will be researched alongside the internationally important collection of instruments and other material evidence of the Board's activities at the NMM.
The 1714 Longitude Act was a turning point in British history: for the first time the government used legislation to address a specific scientific problem. It offered a £20,000 prize for a practical method of determining longitude at sea, and a Board of Longitude, including leaders of maritime, scientific, academic and commercial networks, was created to judge claims and encourage invention. The Board operated until the nineteenth century with major effects on innovation, creativity, and state and commercial patronage systems. Yet there has been no major assessment of this significant institution. Our detailed study will address fundamental questions about Georgian science and society, examining the culture of invention and the notion of precision during this period of industrial progress and commercial revolution. Its findings will help to reassess histories of the long eighteenth century.
The research will concentrate on two key themes:
a) Precision, patronage, instrumentation and the state
The Board's novel role as a semi-governmental organisation encouraging creativity and innovation is an early instance of state intervention in science and technology. Surviving materials reveal the creativity fostered: not just successful schemes but also those considered impracticable. The Board's members and activities placed it within wide-ranging political, commercial and scientific networks, ensuring wide influence.
b) Field trials, navigation, exploration and international networks
Innovative navigational technologies and techniques needed long-distance sea trials. This linked the Board with such bodies as the Admiralty and influential trading corporations, including the East India Company. Two methods for finding longitude were developed by the 1760s, yet the Board's work continued until 1828, with a changing remit in a period of political upheaval and commercial expansion. The Board itself gained influence in the formation of voyages of exploration, notably expansion into the Pacific, the search for the Northwest Passage, and mapping stars in the southern hemisphere.
While the Department of the History and Philosophy of Science provides the ideal academic context within which to carry out this project, the NMM provides both an important complementary context through its collections and staff expertise and an ideal location from which to disseminate the project findings through displays and temporary exhibitions and through related activities. These will include the exploitation of the project results within the Museum's successful learning programme, which offers activities for formal and informal learners, and enhancing access to the Museum's collections and research for users worldwide through related publications, media coverage and web resources.
The project research will bring together two unique resources. The Board of Longitude papers in Cambridge University Library offer rich but underused evidence of British ingenuity and invention during the industrial revolution. They will be researched alongside the internationally important collection of instruments and other material evidence of the Board's activities at the NMM.
The 1714 Longitude Act was a turning point in British history: for the first time the government used legislation to address a specific scientific problem. It offered a £20,000 prize for a practical method of determining longitude at sea, and a Board of Longitude, including leaders of maritime, scientific, academic and commercial networks, was created to judge claims and encourage invention. The Board operated until the nineteenth century with major effects on innovation, creativity, and state and commercial patronage systems. Yet there has been no major assessment of this significant institution. Our detailed study will address fundamental questions about Georgian science and society, examining the culture of invention and the notion of precision during this period of industrial progress and commercial revolution. Its findings will help to reassess histories of the long eighteenth century.
The research will concentrate on two key themes:
a) Precision, patronage, instrumentation and the state
The Board's novel role as a semi-governmental organisation encouraging creativity and innovation is an early instance of state intervention in science and technology. Surviving materials reveal the creativity fostered: not just successful schemes but also those considered impracticable. The Board's members and activities placed it within wide-ranging political, commercial and scientific networks, ensuring wide influence.
b) Field trials, navigation, exploration and international networks
Innovative navigational technologies and techniques needed long-distance sea trials. This linked the Board with such bodies as the Admiralty and influential trading corporations, including the East India Company. Two methods for finding longitude were developed by the 1760s, yet the Board's work continued until 1828, with a changing remit in a period of political upheaval and commercial expansion. The Board itself gained influence in the formation of voyages of exploration, notably expansion into the Pacific, the search for the Northwest Passage, and mapping stars in the southern hemisphere.
While the Department of the History and Philosophy of Science provides the ideal academic context within which to carry out this project, the NMM provides both an important complementary context through its collections and staff expertise and an ideal location from which to disseminate the project findings through displays and temporary exhibitions and through related activities. These will include the exploitation of the project results within the Museum's successful learning programme, which offers activities for formal and informal learners, and enhancing access to the Museum's collections and research for users worldwide through related publications, media coverage and web resources.
Planned Impact
The project's impact beyond academic circles will be achieved through the exploitation of the research findings in a range of outputs delivered at or produced by the National Maritime Museum (NMM). The target audiences will include:
- current museum visitors
- those attending events taking place as part of the museum's learning programme
- users of the museum's website
- all potential audiences interested in the museum's core subjects
The public engagement activities will begin during the early phase of the project (from 2011 onwards), with a major series of activities in 2014 as part of the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the Longitude Act. The activities will include:
- two temporary exhibitions in the Royal Observatory, Greenwich
- feeding the research into long-term displays and temporary exhibitions (both during and after the project timeframe)
- learning activities, including talks, tours, object handling sessions and workshops
- a major conference in 2014
- publications for non-specialist audiences
- creating online resources
- obtaining media coverage for aspects of the project findings
Since the project falls within many of the NMM's core themes, its findings will feed into the activities being programmed and delivered by core museum staff, who will also train and provide support for the project staff. They in turn will have the opportunity to help plan and deliver activities, including public events and the creation of exhibitions and online resources. These public engagement activities will be a key element of the project research assistant's role in the final year of the project.
All engagement activities will be planned, monitored and evaluated using well established procedures already in place at the NMM.
- current museum visitors
- those attending events taking place as part of the museum's learning programme
- users of the museum's website
- all potential audiences interested in the museum's core subjects
The public engagement activities will begin during the early phase of the project (from 2011 onwards), with a major series of activities in 2014 as part of the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the Longitude Act. The activities will include:
- two temporary exhibitions in the Royal Observatory, Greenwich
- feeding the research into long-term displays and temporary exhibitions (both during and after the project timeframe)
- learning activities, including talks, tours, object handling sessions and workshops
- a major conference in 2014
- publications for non-specialist audiences
- creating online resources
- obtaining media coverage for aspects of the project findings
Since the project falls within many of the NMM's core themes, its findings will feed into the activities being programmed and delivered by core museum staff, who will also train and provide support for the project staff. They in turn will have the opportunity to help plan and deliver activities, including public events and the creation of exhibitions and online resources. These public engagement activities will be a key element of the project research assistant's role in the final year of the project.
All engagement activities will be planned, monitored and evaluated using well established procedures already in place at the NMM.
Publications
Alexi Baker (Author)
(2011)
Review of Wigelsworth, 'Selling science in the age of Newton'
Barrett K
(2011)
'Explaining' themselves: The Barrington papers, the board of longitude, and the fate of John Harrison
in Notes and Records of the Royal Society
Dunn R
(2012)
Advertisements as science texts
in Endeavour
Dunn R
(2013)
Book Review: Transits of Venus: Chasing Venus: The Race to Measure the Heavens
in Journal for the History of Astronomy
Morrison-Low, Alison D.; Dupre, Sven; Johnston, Stephen; Strano, Giorgio
(2011)
From Earth-bound to Satellite: Telescopes, Skills and Networks
Morrison-Low, Alison D.; Dupre, Sven; Johnston, Stephen; Strano, Giorgio
(2011)
From Earth-bound to Satellite: Telescopes, Skills and Networks
Nicky Reeves (Author)
(2011)
Review of Morzer Bruyns, Sextants at Greenwich
Rebekah Higgitt (Author)
(2011)
Review of Pedersen and de Clercq, An Observer of Observatories
Rebekah Higgitt (Co-Author)
(2013)
The benefits of hindsight
Richard Dunn (Author)
(2011)
review of Rachel Hewitt, Map of a Nation
Title | Longitude |
Description | An exhibition installation in the Whipple Museum, Cambridge, on the career of longitude and its practices in the eighteenth century |
Type Of Art | Artistic/Creative Exhibition |
Year Produced | 2012 |
Impact | Public attending the Whipple Museum could see a display about the history and artifacts of the eighteenth century longitude project |
Description | Conference grant |
Amount | £100 (GBP) |
Organisation | British Society for Eighteenth Century Studies |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2013 |
End | 12/2013 |
Description | Conference grant |
Amount | £100 (GBP) |
Organisation | British Society for Eighteenth Century Studies |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2013 |
End | 12/2013 |
Description | National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, internship |
Amount | £1,500 (GBP) |
Organisation | National Maritime Museum |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2012 |
End | 12/2012 |
Description | National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, internship |
Amount | £1,500 (GBP) |
Organisation | National Maritime Museum |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2012 |
End | 12/2012 |
Description | Navigating Eighteenth Century Science and Technology: the Board of Longitude |
Amount | £376,308 (GBP) |
Organisation | Jisc |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2011 |
End | 12/2013 |
Description | Navigating Eighteenth Century Science and Technology: the Board of Longitude |
Amount | £376,308 (GBP) |
Organisation | Jisc |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2011 |
End | 12/2013 |
Description | Things: material cultures of the long eighteenth century |
Amount | £1,500 (GBP) |
Organisation | University of Cambridge |
Department | Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CRASSH) |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2012 |
End | 12/2013 |
Description | Things: material cultures of the long eighteenth century |
Amount | £1,500 (GBP) |
Organisation | University of Cambridge |
Department | Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CRASSH) |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2012 |
End | 12/2013 |
Title | Longitude database |
Description | Database of biographical and chronological information about the career of the Board of Longitude and its activities |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Provided To Others? | No |
Impact | Improved control over prosopography and educational programming of longitude material |
Title | Navigating eighteenth century science and technology |
Description | Digitisation of all the manuscripts of the Board of Longitude and related materials in the archives of the Royal Greenwich Observatory and the National Maritime Museum |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2013 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | Major publicity for AHRC project on Board of Longitude; access for any researcher to the entire manuscript holdings of the Board and related material; use in education and outreach through Cambridge Digital Library and through National Maritime Museum |
Description | LongiNumiEt |
Organisation | Maison des Sciences de l'Homme |
Country | France |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Project to digitise the minutes of the Bureau des Longitudes: collaboration with Maison des Sciences de l'Homme, Lorraine |
Start Year | 2013 |
Description | Navigating 18th century Science and Technology |
Organisation | University of Cambridge |
Department | Cambridge University Library |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Collaboration with Cambridge University Library on a JISC project to digitize all the papers of the Board of Longitude and associated materials from the papers of the Royal Greenwich Observatory and the National Maritime Museum |
Start Year | 2011 |
Description | Acting at a distance |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Scientific meeting (conference/symposium etc.) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Type Of Presentation | Keynote/Invited Speaker |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | On the maritime and scientific aspects of the transit of Venus expeditions: major public and keynote lecture delivered to large public audience Publication of results and proceedings |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |
Description | Airy, Challis and the Northumberland telescope |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Public talk during Cambridge Science Festival on the Cambridge Observatory reflecting telescope built in the 1830s as a response to the predicament of British astronomy at the period of the disappearance of the Board of Longitude Audience interest in the history of Cambridge Observatory and its wider context |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | All a-Board |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Scientific meeting (conference/symposium etc.) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Workshop Facilitator |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Workshop for historians of government, administration and empire to compare eighteenth century systems of state organisation: forty delegates attended a workshop at the University of Cambridge Selected contributions will be published in an edited volume |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
Description | Artefacts |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Scientific meeting (conference/symposium etc.) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Keynote/Invited Speaker |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | On the varied uses of scientific artefacts in eighteenth century culture: inauguration of new series of workshops on material culture in the eighteenth century Series of workshops, contionuing; and forthcoming publication of workshop proceedings |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
Description | Artefacts of encounter |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Delivery of a talk on a collaborative project on artefacts and instruments collected and encountered in eighteenth century European voyages in the south Pacific Collaboration on a museum-based project on Pacific materials collected in the eighteenth century |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | Astronomical delegates and long range science |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | On astronomical expeditions and maritime travel: delivery of lecture at conference on scientific instructions for traveller INteraction with historians of travel and science |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
Description | Basic tools, brilliant curiosities and black boxes |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | On the technologies involved in the eighteenth century project on maritime longitude: delivery of talk to Scientific Instrument Commission Interaction with experts in history of scientific instruments |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
Description | Bessel and Baily: the influence of Prussian precision and accuracy on London pendulum research |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Delivery of a onference paper on precision science sponsored by the Board of Longitude in the 1820s Debate on the meaning of precision in pendulum research under the aegis of the Board of Longitude |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | Between astronomer, timekeeper and logbook |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | on marine chronometers and other devices as aspects of discipline in the longitude project: delivery of talk to postgraduate conference interaction with student colleagues and researchers |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | Big institution meets small personal archive |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | On the use of Barrington's archives in the re-interpretation of the history of the Board of Longitude: contribution to Maritime and Oceanic History workshop at Cambridge History Faculty Discussion with historians and maritime experts |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
Description | Bored of Longitude? |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Scientific meeting (conference/symposium etc.) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Paper Presentation |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | On the historiography of the eighteenth century longitude project: contribution to discussion at Research Day of University College London, Science and Technology Studies Contribution to profile of research at University College London |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
Description | Bursting the bubble |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | presentation of a paper on John Harrison's timekeepers discussion of the material dimensions of the debate on reception of the marine timekeepers |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Clocks and courts |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | presentation of a paper on seventeenth century attempts to perfect the marine timekeeper debate on the antecedents of eighteenth century horological enterprise |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Early modern measurement |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Seminar class on the philosophical implications of eighteenth century techniques of measurement and observation Development of relations with the SPEAP programme at Sciences Po, Paris |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | Eighteenth century instruments: handling sessions |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
Results and Impact | Classes on eighteenth century navigation and astronomy using museum collections: 30 science and history students introduced to the working and meaning of instrumentation Improved understanding of past instrumentation and material culture |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
Description | Empires of longitude: international perspectives on naavigation, mapping and science |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Scientific meeting (conference/symposium etc.) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Organisation of symposium on the history of navigation and longitude at 24th International Congress of History of Science, Technology and Medicine Major discussion on the history of longitude within the context of the history of science and technology |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Equipping voyages of scientific exploration |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Scientific meeting (conference/symposium etc.) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Paper Presentation |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | On Astronomer Royal Nevil Maskelyne's role in the preparations for exploratory expeditions: contribution to meeting at Institute of Geography, Edinburgh University discussion with historians and geographers on instruments of exploration |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
Description | Everything is illuminated: candles, funerals and sensuous technology in 18th century London |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Delivery of a seminar paper on the transmission of instrument making expertise in eighteenth century London Exchange with other graduate researchers in history of instrumentation and the scientific community in the eighteenth century |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | Exhibiting longitude: the longitude lunatic in Hogarth's A Rake's Progress |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | On the figure of the longitude projector in the final print of Hogarth's 'Rake's progress': delivery of paper to major international conference Discussion with collaborators and experts in history of science |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
Description | Explaining Hogarth's longitude lunatic; or it's not longitude that matters, it's what you do with it that counts |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Presentation to the Oxford History Faculty of a paper on the representation by Hogarth of the longitude lunatic in Bedlam and its cultural meanings Discussion with eighteenth century historians on iconography of lunacy |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | Feeling between the lines |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Presentation at a major workshop on global histories of science of a paper on navigational practices in eighteenth century maritime culture debate on global navigational practices |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Fixing longitude |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Presentation at the launch event of the JISC project "Navigating eighteenth century science and technology" On the digitization of the archive of the Board of Longitude Interest in the launch of the Cambridge Digital Library website |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Foundation of the Royal Observatory |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Interview with BBC London News on the role of Greenwich Observatory in the search for longitude Audience interest in the Royal Observatory Greenwich |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | Friends from foreign parts |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Presentation of a paper on international correspondents and collaborators of the Board of Longitude Debate on the international dimensions of the longitude project |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | George Graham and the Board of Longitude |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Participants in your research and patient groups |
Results and Impact | Workshop discussion on the relationship between the instrument maker George Graham and the longitude project in the first half of the eighteenth century Increased expertise in the role of Graham's enterprise in the longitude project |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | Georgian patents for scientific instruments |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Participants in your research and patient groups |
Results and Impact | Presentation of new work on patents taken out for scientific instruments between 1735 and 1830, with biographical details on those who took out patents and some of their connexions with the Board of Longitude Debate about the role of patent records in future research on the Board of Longitude |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | Heaving a little ballast: Seaborne astronomy in the late-eighteenth century |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | delivery of talk on eighteenth century nautical astronomy exchanges with historians of scientific instruments |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | Hero or villain? Nevil Maskelyne's posthumous reputation |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Talk at Royal Society of London on the historiography of Nevil Maskelyne's achievements Discussion on the history of astronomy with members of the audience |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | Hero, villain or something in between? |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | On Nevil Maskelyne's role in the discovery of longitude: delivery of talk to the Royal Society Public engagement with history of longitude and of Maskelyne's repute |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
Description | Horology workshop |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Participants in your research and patient groups |
Results and Impact | Workshop discussion of current research in the history of eighteenth century horology and cataloguing of chronometers in the collections of the National Maritime Museum: very useful training in history and practice of clockmaking and conservation Incorporation of horological expertise and historiography into research outputs |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |
Description | How Britannia came to rule the waves |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Newspaper interview and article on the revised history of the discovery of longitude and the AHRC Board of longitude project: increased publicity for AHRC project Outreach to newspaper readers |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |
Description | If the Love of Money cannot be said to be the Case, they must be no better than as if out of their Senses': or Hogarth's longitude lunatic between credit and credibility |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Presentation of a conference paper on the fiscal and epistemic significance of the representation of longitude and lunacy in the eighteenth century discussions with eighteenth century historians on the background to Hogarth's representation of Bedlam |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | In pursuit of the ephemeral and the durable: weights, measures and the figure of the Earth |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Presentation of a paper on metrology and pendulum experiments sponsored by the Board of Longitude in the early nineteenth century Discussion of the role of standardisation in the work of the Board of Longitude |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | In search of international longitudinarians |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Presentation of a paper on the role of overseas longitude projectors in the eighteenth century discussion of international dimensions of the longitude project |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Instrumenting order |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Scientific meeting (conference/symposium etc.) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Paper Presentation |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | on the astronomical education of mariners in the later eighteenth century: contribution to workshop on instruments of exploration at Edinburgh Institute of Geography discussion with historians and historical geographers |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
Description | Instruments of exploration at Greenwich |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | contribution to workshop at Royal Geographical Society, London, on Geography, technology and exploration since 1780 interaction with colleagues in geography and history |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | Into the breeches |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | On the re-interpretation of the reputation of Nevil Maskelyne in the historiography of longitude Journalist interview for public magazine article |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
Description | Isaac Newton's time |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Presentation at a Maritime History Seminar in London of a paper on the influence of Newton on the development of chronometric and astronomic methods for longitude at sea discussion of Newton's relationship with the development of maritime longitude |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | John Pringle's Copley Medal Discourses |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | On the relation between naval science and the activities of fellows of the Royal Society in the 1770s: contribution to a major conference at the National Maritime Museum to mark the 350th anniversary of the Royal Society Useful feedback from conference audience |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |
Description | Joseph Banks between natural history and astronomy |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | On the related projects in astronomy and in natural history pursued through the Royal Society under Banks' presidency: plenary keynote lecture at major international conference on Joseph Banks Interaction with colleagues in history of science and navigation at National Maritime Museum |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
Description | King's astronomer, professor or public servant? |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Presentation to the Flamsteed Society on the role of the first Astronomer Royal John Flamsteed Public interest in the foundation and early work of the Royal Observatory |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Lists, Letters and Longitude |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Presentation to staff seminar at the National Maritime Museum on the uses of astronomy in eighteenth century scientific expeditions discussion on the astronomical work of maritime science |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Lists, Letters and Longitude: Expeditionary Astronomy in Theory and Practice |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Presentation at an international conference at the Huntington Library, Caliornia, on the uses of astronomy in eighteenth century scientific expeditions Debate on the literary aspects of expedition narratives in the eighteenth century |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Longitude and survey: international relations |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Scientific meeting (conference/symposium etc.) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Workshop Facilitator |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | International workshop at National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, on the international dimensions of surveying and maritime longitude between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries, including presentations on Dutch and French experience of the determination of longitude Interaction with international colleagues working on history of longitude in comparative contexts |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | Longitude inscrib'd |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | On early pamphlets concerned with the longitude problem: delivery of talk at major international conference interaction with colleague sin history of science |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | Longitude inscrib'd: early pamphlet solutions to the longitude problem |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Delivery of an international conference paper on the publications about longitude issued in early eighteenth century Britain debate on the role of print in the debate about the longitude problem |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | Longitude inscrib'd: solving the longitude problem through instrument, image and text |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Scientific meeting (conference/symposium etc.) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Paper Presentation |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | On the use of images and print in early published solutions to the longitude problem: contribution to postgraduate conference of British Society for History of Science discussion with colleagues and postgraduates |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
Description | Making Time Fit |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | On the significance and value of chronometers in later eighteenth century maritime expeditions: delivery of paper to conference on Joseph Banks and empire Interaction with historians of empire, travel and natural history at National Maritime Museum |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
Description | Making time fit |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Workshop paper in preparation for publication of a collective book on the changing experience of time in history: the paper explored the career of time management and the use of marine chronometers in late eighteenth century scientific voyages Forthcoming publication on the history of time |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | Material culture in the long eighteenth century |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Scientific meeting (conference/symposium etc.) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Two workshops, in Cambridge and at the Huntington Library, California, to analyse and discuss the role of material cultures in eighteenth century social and scientific enterprises Forthcoming publication of the proceedings |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | Measuring the universe |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Exhibition on the scientific activities to observe the Transit of Venus in the eighteenth century Audience interest in the Transit of Venus and its scientific significance |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | Navigating 18th century Science and Technology: the Board of Longitude |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Scientific meeting (conference/symposium etc.) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Workshop Facilitator |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Public conference to launch the new JISC funded digital website of the archives of the Board of Longitude Public interest in the Cambridge Digital Library website |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Navigating eighteenth century science and technology: JISC digitisation project |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Report on project to digitize the manuscripts of the Board of Longitude and associated documents, at a Royal Society meeting on the Origins of Science as a Visual Pursuit Increased expertise in managing visual materials in the context of digital humanities |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | Nevil Maskelyne and the instruments of scientific exploration 1760-1800 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | delivery of a conference paper at international history of science conference in Philadelphia, USA, on the use of scientific equipment in explorations led by the Astronomer Royal Nevil Maskelyne discussion of the importance of instrumentation in eighteenth century scientific expeditions |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | Nevil Maskelyne at the Royal Observatory |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Talk to the Purton Historical Society at the Royal Observatory Greenwich on the career of the Astronomer Royal Nevil Maskelyne engagement with school students on history of astronomy |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | Nevil Maskelyne: the man who weighed the Earth |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | On the project of the Astronomer Royal Nevil Maskelyne to determine the effect of mountains on the alignment of nearby plumb lines in the 1770s: talk at Westminster School interaction with school students |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
Description | Newton and the Longitude |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Contribution to the Gravity Fields festival at Grantham: on Isaac Newton's role in the formation of the eighteenth century longitude project Link between Board of Longitude project and outreach activities around the Gravity Fields festival |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | Newton et les longitudes |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Presentation at a workshop at the Université Lorraine in Nancy on the role of Newton as a figure of scientific authority in the history of the Board of Longitude Collaboration with the Nancy-based project to digitise the papers of the Bureau des Longitudes |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | North by Northwest? |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | On the uses and problems of compass navigation in Arctic exploration: delivery of talk to National Maritime Museum conference on modern navigation Interaction with experts in maritime history |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | Oceanic Enterprise: Location, Longitude and Maritime Cultures 1770 - 1830 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Scientific meeting (conference/symposium etc.) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Workshop Facilitator |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | International Conference on longitude, scientific travel, and international expeditions in the later eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries publication of papers selected from the conference |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Playmobil and its discontents |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | On design strategies for a museum exhibition on eighteenth century longitude: presentation in seminar series on history of science Useful feedback for work in museum curation |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
Description | Precision, perfection and the reality of eighteenth century instruments at sea |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Scientific meeting (conference/symposium etc.) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Conference paper on the transport, maintenance and repair of scientific instruments used at sea during the eighteenth century Discussion of the transport of instruments in the eighteenth century with colleagues |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | Primary source: Board of Longitude |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
Results and Impact | teaching seminars and supervisions on the primary materials in the Board of Longitude archives: between 5 and 10 students trained in reading, understanding and commenting on primary source materials in the history of Longitude Improved understanding of the history of longitude and navigation among natural sciences students |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
Description | Ramsden and the longitude project |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Participants in your research and patient groups |
Results and Impact | delivery of talk about the interaction between instrument makers and the Board of Longitude improved understanding of the role of longitude instrument makers |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
Description | Reading between the lines |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Presentation at a major international conference at the university of Liverpool on the global eighteenth century of a paper on chronometers and navigation in the late eighteenth century discussion with other historians on the global eighteenth century networks and their links with chronometer development |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Redefining the early nature and nomenclature of the Board of Longitude |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Scientific meeting (conference/symposium etc.) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Paper Presentation |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | On the changes in the work of the Commissioners of Longitude in the earlier eighteenth century: contribution to annual conference of British Society for History of Science discussion with historians of science |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
Description | Revisiting and revising Maskelyne's reputation |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Scientific meeting (conference/symposium etc.) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Paper Presentation |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | The historiography of the career of Astronomer Royal Nevil Maskelyne: contribution to public meeting at National Maritime Museum on the career of Maskelyne publication of proceedings of conference |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
Description | Science prizes: what are they for? |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | The Longitude prizes as model for subsequent science prizes: post on the Guardian science website Discussion with NESTA and other organisations involved in the 2014 Longitude Prize scheme |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | Sir Isaac's Moon: Newtonian physics in the quest for longitude |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
Results and Impact | Talk at Oxford University undergraduate physics conference interaction with university physics students |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | Sounding in silence: the mechanics of discipline in the early nineteenth-century Royal Navy |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | On depth sounding devices and the uses of naval discipline in a presentation to National Maritime Museum staff communication and discussion of information about Museum holdings of depth sounding equipment |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | Technology, tools and toys: selling scientific instruments in early modern London |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Presentation to the London University economic and social history seminar a paper on the marketing of scientific instruments in eighteenth century London debate on the development of the instrument market in the eighteenth century |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | Telescopes: real and imagined |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Scientific meeting (conference/symposium etc.) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Paper Presentation |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | On optical and astronomical instruments used in the search for longitude at sea: presentation for ongoing research group on histories of material culture Planned publication of seminar presentation |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
Description | The 1818 Longitude Act |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Scientific meeting (conference/symposium etc.) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Paper Presentation |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | On the new longitude legislation of 1818 and the public funding of science: contribution to annual conference of British Society for History of Science discussions with historians of science |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
Description | The Admiralty's Observatories |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | On the observatories at Greenwich, the Cape of Good Hope and Rossbank: delivery of public lecture at National Maritime Museum Interaction with museum visitors to displays |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
Description | The Barrington papers |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Scientific meeting (conference/symposium etc.) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Paper Presentation |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | On the manuscripts of Daines Barrington and the debate about parliamentary legislation for the longitude prize: contribution to postgraduate conference of British Society for History of Science Interest from audience in historiography of longitude |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
Description | The Barrington papers and the fate of John Harrison |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Scientific meeting (conference/symposium etc.) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Paper Presentation |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | On the parliamentary debates about the award of the Longitude prize to John Harrison: presentation to the postgraduate forum of the Centre for Eighteenth Century Studies of the University of York discussion with colleagues and postgraduates |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
Description | The Board of Longitude in the early nineteenth century: negotiating authority and expertise |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Delivery of conference paper on the role of the Admiralty and the Board of Longitude in the encouragement of scientific expert advice in the 1820s Interaction with colleagues at the National Maritime Museum |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | The Board, the Bureau and the 1818 Longitude Act |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Presentation at an international workshop at the Université Lorraine in Nancy on the French influence on the drafting of the 1818 Longitude Act Collaboration with the Nancy group on a project to digitise the paper of the Bureau des Longitudes |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | The Bombay case |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | On the establishment of a new observatory by the East India Company in Bombay in the 1820s and the activities of the instrument makers and astronomers involved: contribution to a continuing serie sof the London Historical geographers' Group on infrastructure Discussion with historical geographers and planning for further exchanges |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |
Description | The Economization of Time in the Pacific |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Presentation of a paper on the values of marine chronometers and of maritime discipline in eighteenth century voyages discussion on the methods of organisation of ships and discipline in eighteenth century naval expeditions |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | The Longitude Act |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Presentation of a talk at NESTA on the Longitude Act and various longitude projects Incorporation of recommendations in plans for 2014 Longitude Prize |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | The Longitude prize |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Interview with BBC World Tonight on the Longitude prize as a precedent for the award of prizes in science and engineering Publicity for work of AHRC project |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
Description | The Nautical Almanac: an instrument of change |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | delivery of paper on the changes in the organisation of the Nautical Almanac during the period of the abolition of the Board of Longitude Interactions with postgraduate students in history of science |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | The Nautical Almanac: an instrument of controversy |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | On the debates about the publication and accuracy of the Nautical Almanac in the earlier nineteenth century: delivery of talk to international experts in scientific instrumentation Interaction with experts in history of instrumentation |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
Description | The Royal Mint in the later eighteenth century |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Participants in your research and patient groups |
Results and Impact | Presentation of new research on the management of the Royal Mint in the later eighteenth century and a comparison with institutional and practical changes in the Board of Longitude Debate on variations between different institutions of state patronage and plans for further collaboration with research group at Lancaster University |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | The Venus transit expeditions |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | On the imperial and scientific implications of the Venus transit expeditions: contribution to a major conference marking the 350th anniversary of the Royal Society Useful discussion with audience members |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |
Description | The Whipple Museum is full of rubbish |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Delivery of a talk on the planning and layout of a museum display on eighteenth century Longitude Improvement in layout and design of new museum display |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | The crazy ideas the failed to solve the longitude problem |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Release of online BBC News Science and Environment report on the work of the Board of Longitude Public interest in research on the history of the Board of Longitude archives |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | The devil is in the detail: Hogarth and Hockney on longitude and latitude |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Presentation of a talk on the imagery and technique of longitude in Hogarth's Rake's Progress and Hockney's stage designs at an international conference on Hockney and Hogarth Discussion on the role of Hogarth's representation of longitude in Hockney's designs |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2009,2012 |
Description | The known skill of the artist |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Delivery of a paper at international workshop on the material cultures of the long eighteenth century, discussing the role of the instrument maker in the status of eighteenth century astronomical devices Discussion on the role of the author of instruments in evaluation of their importance |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | The latitude of the search for longitude in eighteenth-century Britain |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Scientific meeting (conference/symposium etc.) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Paper Presentation |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | On aspects of the organisation and pursuit of the search for methods of determining longitude: presentation to British Maritime History Seminar at London University's Institute of Historical Research discussion with collaborators and audience |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
Description | The meaning of the 1714 Longitude Act |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Participants in your research and patient groups |
Results and Impact | Presentation y an expert on the life of John Harrison of the interpretation of the terms of the 1714 Longitude Act and its implications for the reward system during the later eighteenth century Debate on the terms of the 1714 act and the historiography of John Harrison |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | The self-fashioning of the Board of Longitude |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Scientific meeting (conference/symposium etc.) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Paper Presentation |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | On the organization of the Board of Longitude following the 1714 Longitude act: presentation of work to a meeting on the role of government boards in eighteenth century administration Contributions to be published in edited volume |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
Description | The silent trade: on the boundaries of measurement |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Plenary lecture at an international conference on measurement on the role of quantification in early modern societies and its use in establishing position Debate on the relation between navigational practice and accurate measurement |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | The telescope: technology, luxury and symbol |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Scientific meeting (conference/symposium etc.) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Paper Presentation |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | On the possession of telescopes and their uses in the eighteenth century marketplace: seminar presentation to public discussion of material culture Publication of proceedings of seminar series |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
Description | The uses of Wikipedia |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Participants in your research and patient groups |
Results and Impact | Presentation by the British Library's wikipedian-in-residence on the means to use Wikipedia as a means for dissemination of the Project's research results improved wikipedia participation by project members |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Things are getting complicated |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | On material culture in the eighteenth century and its implications for the understanding of consumer behaviour: web presentation to Cambridge University on the seminar series associated with the project Increased publicity for work on eighteenth century materials |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
Description | Things: early modern material cultures |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Video presentation of a seminar series on early modern material cultures Increased impact of the publicity around discussions of material culture and the sciences in the eighteenth century |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | This iridescent bubble of knowledge |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | On the figure of the longitude projector in Bedlam in the final figure of Hogarth's 'Rake's progress': delivery of presentation to professional art historians Interaction with colleagues in art history |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
Description | Thomas Young and the end of the Board of Longitude |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Scientific meeting (conference/symposium etc.) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Paper Presentation |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | On the abolition of the Board of Longitude in 1828: contribution to annual conference of the British Society for the History of Science discussion with postgraduate and senior colleagues in history of science |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
Description | Transits of Venus |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Public talk at Radley College on the eighteenth century astronomical expeditions to observe the transit of Venus in 1761 and 1769 engagement with school students about history of astronomy |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | Trial by water |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | On the eighteenth century development of navigation: presentation to members of the Royal Yacht Association Useful exchanges with mariners and general public |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |
Description | Understanding things |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Presentation at a Mellon-funded workshop of a paper on the role of material culture in historical understanding of eighteenth century scientific objects Discussion on the significance of material culture in the interpretation of eighteenth century sciences |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | What they didn't tell you about the Transits of Venus |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Post on Guardian Science Desk website with feedback Increased interest in Transit of Venus events |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | Where to place the Arnold/Earnshaw debates: trials, testimony and travel in the Board of Longitude's relationship with the clock-making trade |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Presentation of a paper on the controversy over the virtues of the marine chronometers of John Arnold and Thomas Earnshaw Discussion of priority disputes in the eighteenth century |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |