Jeremiah Dixon
Jeremiah Dixon | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | 22 January 1779 Cockfield, County Durham, Kingdom of Great Britain | (aged 45)
Nationality | British |
Known for | Mason–Dixon line |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Astronomy, surveying |
Signature | |
Jeremiah Dixon (27 July 1733 – 22 January 1779)[1] was an English surveyor and astronomer who is best known for his work with Charles Mason, from 1763 to 1767, in determining what was later called the Mason–Dixon line.
Early life and education
Dixon was born in
Career
It was probably the astronomer John Bird, an active Fellow of the Royal Society, who recommended Dixon as suitable to serve as assistant to Charles Mason in 1761 when the Royal Society sent them to observe the transit of Venus from Sumatra. However, their passage to Sumatra was delayed, and they landed instead at the Cape of Good Hope where the transit was observed on 6 June 1761. Dixon returned to the Cape once again with Nevil Maskelyne's clock to work on experiments with gravity.
Dixon and Mason signed an agreement in 1763 with the proprietors of
Dixon sailed to
Private life
Dixon died unmarried in
Legacy
It is possible that Dixon's name was the origin for the nickname
Jeremiah Dixon is one of the two title characters of Thomas Pynchon's 1997 novel Mason & Dixon. The song Sailing to Philadelphia from Mark Knopfler's album of the same name, also refers to Mason and Dixon, and was inspired by Pynchon's book.
An exhibition about the life and work of Jeremiah Dixon was mounted at the Bowes Museum in Barnard Castle in England in 2013. Titled Jeremiah Dixon: Scientist, Surveyor and Stargazer, it was scheduled to run from 27 April to 6 October.
In September 2013, a locomotive operating on the Weardale Railway in County Durham was named after Jeremiah Dixon. The locomotive now operates in the Willesden area of northwest London.
See also
References
- ^ Derek Howse, ‘Dixon, Jeremiah (1733–1779)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 22 April 2013
- ^ Jeremiah Dixon (1733-1779)-A Biographical Note
- ^ Bell, Whitfield J., and Charles Greifenstein, Jr. Patriot-Improvers: Biographical Sketches of Members of the American Philosophical Society. 3 vols. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1997, I:367-68, 369-71, 525-29, III:111.
- ^ "Jeremiah Dixon (1733–1779) – A biographical note" (PDF). The Mason & Dixon Line Preservation Partnership. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 August 2013. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
- JSTOR 1780305.
- ^ "A Plan of the West Line or Parallel of Latitude". World Digital Library. 1768. Retrieved 1 July 2013.