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Paper, 'An instrument for seeing the Sun, Moon and stars pass the meridian of any place usefull for setting watches in all parts of the world with the greatest exactness; to correct sun-dials; to assist in the discovery of the longitudes of places etc' by William Derham

Reference number: CLP/8i/60

Date: 1705

Description

Derham describes using an instrument to make astronomical observations, for the purpose of setting watches and correcting sun dials. He writes: 'Among all the ways contrived for finding the meridian of any place, the most commodious I could ever meet with, or think of for common use, is an Instrument of Sir Christopher Wren's, or two of Mr Gray's or one published in the Appendix of a little Book, called "The Artificial Clockmaker".'

Subject: Astronomy / Scientific apparatus and instruments

Reference number
CLP/8i/60
Earliest possible date
1705
Physical description
Ink on paper
Page extent
6 pages
Format
Manuscript

Creator name

William Derham

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Citation

William Derham, Paper, 'An instrument for seeing the Sun, Moon and stars pass the meridian of any place usefull for setting watches in all parts of the world with the greatest exactness; to correct sun-dials; to assist in the discovery of the longitudes of places etc' by William Derham, 1705, CLP/8i/60, The Royal Society Archives, London, https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/clp_8i_60/paper-an-instrument-for-seeing-the-sun-moon-and-stars-pass-the-meridian-of-any-place-usefull-for-setting-watches-in-all-parts-of-the-world-with-the-greatest-exactness-to-correct-sun-dials-to-assist-in-the-discovery-of-the-longitudes-of-places-etc-by-william-derham, accessed on 09 February 2025

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  • Classified Papers

    Dates: 1592-1741

    The 'Classified Papers' of the Royal Society are papers from British and international natural philosophers and scholars categorised according to subject areas.

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