350th Anniversary Harrison stamps! Congratulations to the Royal Mail for celebrating the special 350th anniversary of King Charles II signing a royal warrant in 1675 to establish an observatory for “perfecting navigation and astronomy.” In the words of Dr Louise Devoy, Senior Curator at Royal Observatory Greenwich, “With other European countries vying for navigational supremacy to enhance global trade, the king did not want to see Britian left behind. The Royal Observatory Greenwich, was the nation’s first state-funded scientific institution and the hilltop site was chosen for its smoke-free skies and clear view of the horizon.” You can discover more about Charles II on the Clocktime website here. The Royal Mail has produced a series of collectable items including six first class stamps that celebrate key milestones in the history of the observatory, which note the completion of Flamsteed House in 1676, its first public clock in 1852 and Greenwich chosen as the centre of time and longitude in 1884. In addition, there are four special stamps celebrating John ‘Longitude’ Harrison’s Marine Timekeepers, notably the H1 circa 1735, the H2 circa 1739, the H3 circa 1759 and the H4 circa 1759. Dr Devoy explains, “For this forth attempt, the clockmaker defied conventional wisdom by adopting a watch design. Known as H4, the timekeeper performed exceptionally well on transatlantic voyages in the 1760s but disputes over the criteria meant that Harrison did not receive his reward until 1773, just three years before his death. The next generation of clockmakers subsequently developed Harrison’s ideas in the marine ‘chronometer’ that became an essential part of navigational practice in the 19th and 20th centuries.” You can learn more about the chronometers on the Clocktime Digital Museum website. The New Scientist has recently published a video on YouTube in which Dr Louise Devoy discusses The clocks that helped define time from London’s Royal Observatory collection. The subject is brilliantly explained. It’s remarkable that this whistle-stop tour from sundials to atomic clocks is covered in less than twelve minutes!
