Longitude
By (author): "Dava Sobel"
Publish Date:
1995
ISBN1841152331
ISBN139781841152332
AsinLongitude
Original titleLongitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time
The thorniest scientific problem of the eighteenth century was how to determine longitude. Many thousands of lives had been lost at sea over the centuries due to the inability to determine an east-west position. This is the engrossing story of the clockmaker, John "Longitude" Harrison, who solved the problem that Newton and Galileo had failed to conquer, yet claimed only half the promised rich reward.