Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Fig. 34
The Royal Observatory at Greenwich. The Greenwich meridian line is marked by a
stone and brass construction in the cobbled courtyard beside Flamsteed House, the first
observatory on the site, built by Wren. Photo by the author
by appointing Flamsteed as his “astronomical observator,” and by founding an observa-
tory to develop the intellectual capital and the technology. He put this project under the
charge of the Royal Navy, because of the importance of navigation to its ships. At the
suggestion of the astronomer-turned-architect Christopher Wren, the Royal Observatory
was built in 1676 by Wren in Greenwich's Royal Park. The description of the person in
charge as an astronomical observatory transmuted into Astronomer Royal,
Flamsteed and his successors applied themselves diligently to these measurements
and calculations. Flamsteed installed a telescope on a north-south wall with which he
