The accurate measurement of Longitude

by Pete London

Sir Cloudesley Shovell was Commander of the British fleets during the reign of Queen Anne, a national hero who’d fought and defeated the Dutch, French and Spanish navies. But in terrible weather during the evening of 22nd October 1707, Sir Cloudesley and four of his ships were wrecked among the western rocks of Scillonia. The tragedy was caused by catastrophic navigational errors and its shockwaves led to demands for an accurate method of measuring longitude at sea, a challenge which for many years stayed unsolved.