Maskelyne appointed Astronomer Royal Nevil Maskelyne was appointed the fifth Astronomer Royal in 1765. He held the office for 46 years, until 1811. An accomplished astronomer, navigator and cartographer in his own right, he is now mainly known as the nemesis of clockmaker John Harrison. In her book, Longitude, science writer Dava Sobel provides a full history of the feud between Harrison and Maskelyne. You can also read a brief account of Harrison’s acrimonious relationship with Maskelyne on Clocktime. Reference Sobel, D. 2011. Longitude: The true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time. London: Harper Perennial. Image Credit Nevil Maskelyne by R. Page, published by G. Jones, colour stipple engraving, published 1 May 1815, NPG D14424 © National Portrait Gallery, London, CC BY-NC-ND 3.0, https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw67957/Nevil-Maskelyne?LinkID=mp03004&search=sas&sText=maskelyne&OConly=true&displayStyle=thumb&role=sit&rNo=3
