Longitude Act

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Act of Parliament
13 Ann. c. 14
(Ruffhead: 12 Ann. St. 2 c. 15)
Dates
Repealed1828
Other legislation
Repealed byStatute Law Revision Act 1867
Status: Repealed
Text of statute as originally enacted

The Longitude Act 1714 was an

monetary rewards (Longitude rewards) for anyone who could find a simple and practical method for the precise determination of a ship's longitude. The Act of 1714 was followed by a series of other Longitude Acts that revised or replaced the original.[1]

Background

The original Longitude Act 1714

As transoceanic travel grew in significance, so did the importance of accurate and reliable navigation at sea. Scientists and navigators had been working on the problem of measuring longitude for a long time. While determining latitude was relatively easy,[2] early ocean navigators had to rely on dead reckoning to find longitude. This was particularly inaccurate on long voyages without sight of land and could sometimes lead to tragedy, as during the Scilly naval disaster of 1707 which claimed the lives of nearly 2,000[3] sailors. This brought the problem of measuring longitude at sea into sharp focus once more. Following the Merchants and Seamen Petition, which called for finding an adequate solution and was presented to Parliament in May 1714, the Longitude Act was passed in July 1714.

For details on many of the efforts towards determining the longitude, see History of longitude.

The rewards

Main article: Longitude rewards

The Longitude Act offered a series of rewards, rather than a single prize. The rewards increased with the accuracy achieved: £10,000 (worth over £1.54 million in 2021

minutes, and further enhanced to £20,000 if it was not greater than half a degree.[5] Other rewards were on offer for those who presented methods that worked within 80 geographical miles of the coast (being the most treacherous part of voyages) and for those with promising ideas who needed help to bring them to readiness for trial. Many rewards were paid out over the 114 years of the Board of Longitude's existence.[1] John Harrison
received more money than any other individual, with several rewards from the 1730s–1750s, and £10,000 in 1765.

Discovery of Longitude at Sea, etc. Act 1818
Act of Parliament
58 Geo. 3
. c. 20

Subsequent Longitude Acts offered different rewards. That of 1767 held out £5,000 for improvements to

North West Passage, again on a sliding scale from £20,000 for reaching the Pacific through a north-west passage to £5,000 for reaching 110 degrees west or 89 degrees north and £1,000 for reaching 83 degrees north. In 1820 £5,000 was paid to the officers and crews of HMS Hecla and HMS Griper under this Act.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c Howse, Derek (1998). "Britain's Board of Longitude: The Finances, 1714–1828" (PDF). The Mariner's Mirror. pp. 400–417. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 May 2014. Retrieved 14 July 2020. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  2. declination for the day. At night, latitude can also be determined altitudes of stars with known declination crossing the meridian (including Polaris, the northern pole star
    ).
  3. ISBN 1-85702-571-7
  4. ^ UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  5. ^ Longitude Act 1714. Full text at the Internet Archive
  6. 14 Geo. 3
    . c. 66)

Further reading

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