Bibliography

References to works cited in the text are made via the Harvard of author’s name and date of publication, thus: (Adams 2005). If not otherwise referenced, quotations are copied from the summarizing and general works that are referenced near the beginning of the chapter or section. I received James Lequeux’ new biography of François Arago (Lequeux 2008) too late to be able to take advantage of its comprehensive scholarship.

Adams , M. (2005) Collingwood: Nelson’s own Hero London : Weidenfeld and Nicholson . Alder , K. (2002) The Measure of All Things: the Seven Year Odyssey that Transformed the World London : Little Brown . Anon (1854) “François Arago – his life and discoveries” North British Review, XX, 459, 1854 – review essay based on “François Arago” by J.A. Barral, 1853, “Discours prononcé au funeraille de M. Arago, le Mercredi 5 Oct 1853” by M. Flourens, and “François Arago” by M. De la Rive, in Bull. Univ. de Genève, Oct 1853, xxiv , 265; also “Obituary of François Arago” Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society , 14 , 102, 1854. Arago, F. (1857) “The story of my youth” in Biographies of Distinguished Men, translated by W.H. Smyth, the Rev. Baden Powell and Robert Grant London: Longman, Brown, Green, Longmans and Roberts. See electronic text at http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/16775. The French version of “Histoire de ma Jeunesse” is available through http://gallica.bnf.fr/ (Barral, J.-A., ed. (1854–1862) Arago, F. (1786–1853) Oeuvres completes , Tome 1, p. 1). See also “Mesure de la Méridienne de ”, ibid . Tome 11, p. 54. Bartky , Ian R. (2000) Selling the True : Nineteenth-Century Timekeeping in America Stanford : Stanford University Press . Blackett , P.M.S. (1967) “The Lunar Society of Birmingham” University of Birmingham Historical Journal XI ( 1 ), 1 , 1967 . Bodanis, D (2006) Passionate Minds London : Little Brown . Brown , D. (2003) The Da Vinci Code London : Bantam Press . Cassini, Jacques (Cassini II) (1720) De la Grandeur et de la Figure de la Terre Paris: Imprimerie Royale. Cassini de Thury, César-François (Cassini III) (1744) La Méridienne de l’Observatoire Royal de Paris, Verifiée dans toute l’étendue du Royaume par les nouvelles Observations. Paris: Libraries Hippolyte-Louis Guerin et Jacques Guerin. Chandrasekhar , S (1995) ’s Principia for the Common Reader Chicago : University of Chicago Press . Chapman , A. ( 1995 , 2nd edn .) Dividing the Circle Chichester : Wiley and Praxis . Cohen , I.B. (1970) Biography of Delambre in Dictionary of Scientific Biography New York : Charles Scribner & Sons .

169 170 Bibliography

Cohen , I.B. and Whitman , A. (1999) The Principia: a new translation Berkeley : University of California Press . Cotardière, Philippe de la (2003) Guide de l’Astronomie en France Paris: Guides Savants de Belin. Crease , R.P. (2003) The Prism and the : the Ten Most Beautiful Experiments in Space New York : Random House . Daumas , M. ( 1943 , reprinted 1987 ) Arago, La Jeunesse de la Paris : Belin . Daumas , M. ( 1972 , reprinted 1989 ) Scientific Instruments of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries and their Makers ( trans. by M. Holbrook ) London : Portman Books . Debarth , S. (1984) L’Observatoire de Paris: son Histoire (1667–1963) Paris : Observatoire de Paris . Delambre , M. (1827) Histoire de l’Astronomie au Dix-Huitième Siècle Paris : Bachelier . Fernández-Armesto , F. (2006) Pathfinders : a Global History of Exploration Oxford : University Press . Gillispie , C.G. (ed.) (1973) Dictionary of Scientific Biography NY : Charles Scribner’s Sons . Gotteland , A. and Camus , G. (1997) Cadrans Solaires de Paris Paris : CNRS Editions . Greenberg , J. (1995) The Problem of the Earth’s Shape from Newton to Clairaut Cambridge : University Press . Guedj , Denis (2001) The Measure of the World (trans. by Arthur Goldhammer from the French edi- tion, La Mesure du monde , Éditions Seghers Paris 1987) Chicago : University of Chicago Press . Harrison , H.M . ( 1994) Voyager in Time and Space: the life of John Couch Adams, Sussex : The Book Guild. Heilbron , J.L. ( 2001) The Sun in the Church: Cathedrals as Solar Observatories Cambridge , MA: Harvard University Press. Howard-Duff , I (1984) “ in 1784 – Cassini de Thury’s legacy to Jean-Dominique Cassini” J. Brit. Astr. Assoc . , 95 , 1 . Howard-Duff , I. (1986) “ D.F.J. Arago 1786–1853” J. Brit. Astr. Assoc. , 97 , 1 . Howse , D. (1984) “1884 and longitude zero” Vistas in 28 , 11 . Howse , D. (1997) Greenwich Time and the Longitude London : Philip Wilson and the National Maritime Museum. Kiner, Aline (2005) « Des églises devenues observatoires » et Avenir Avril 2005, page 82–97. Konvitz , J. W (1987) Cartography in France 1660–1848 Chicago, IL: University Press. Lequeux , J. (2008) François Arago un savant généreux - Physique et astronomie au XIXe siècle Paris : Coédition EDP Sciences, Observatoire de Paris. Malin , S. and Stott , C. (1984) The Greenwich Southampton : Ordnance Survey. Maupertuis , P. (1738) The , Determined from Observations made by Order of the French King at the Polar Circle London : Cox, Davis, Knapton and Millar . See also another English translation in Pinkerton (1808) , p . 231. Méchain , P. and Delambre , J.-B. (1806–10) Base du Système Mètrique Décimal, ou Mesure de l’Arc du Méridien . Paris : Baudouin, Imprimeur de l’Institut National . Murdin, P. (2006) “Laborious and perilous adventures – François Arago’s triumphant return to France” Journal for Maritime Research , 15 June 2006. http://www.jmr.nmm.ac.uk/ Outhier, R. (1744) Journal of a Voyage to the North in the Years 1736 and 1737. See translation in Pinkerton (1808), p. 259. Pinkerton , J. (1808) A General Collection of the Best and Most Interesting Voyages and Travels in All Parts of the World ( Vol. 1 ). London : Longman, Hurst, Rees and Orme . Regional Library of and the Pello Municipal Library (2006) “The in the Tornionlaasko Valley 1736–1737” http://www4.rovaniemi.fi/lapinkavijat/maupertuis/ index_eng.html Rougé , Michel (2006) Le Gnomon de l’Eglise Saint-Sulpice Paris : Paroisse Saint-Sulpice . Showen , R.L. (1984) “Pride and chauvinism in science” Vistas in Astronomy 28 , 311 , 1984 . Simaan , A. (2001) La Science au Péril de sa Vie Paris : Vuibert/Adapt . Bibliography 171

Smith , J.R. (1986) From Plane to : determining the Figure of the Earth from 3000 B.C. to the 18th century Lapland and Peruvian Expeditions Rancho Cordova , CA : Landmark Enterprises . Sobel , D. (1999) Longitude London : Fourth Estate . Tackett , T. (2003) When the King Took Flight Cambridge, MA : Harvard UP . Terrall , M. (2002) The Man who Flattened the Earth: Maupertuis and the Sciences in the Enlightenment Chicago : University of Chicago Press . Terrien , L. (2000) Saint-Sulpice Paris : Church of St Sulpice . Tobin , W. (2005) The Life and Science of Léon Foucault Cambridge : Cambridge University Press . Todhunter , I. ( 1873 , reprinted 1962 ) A History of the Mathematical theories of Attraction and the Figure of the Earth NY : Dover Publications . Turner , A. J. (1989) From Pleasure and Profit to Science and Security – Étienne Lenoir and the Transformation of Precision Instrument-Making in France 1760–1830 Cambridge : Whipple Museum of the History of Science . Van Helden , A. (1996) “Longitude and the satellites of Jupiter” in The Quest for Longitude , ed. W.J.H. Andrewes , Cambridge, MA : Harvard University Press . Whitaker , R. (2004) The Mapmaker’s Wife London : Doubleday . Wolf , C. (1902) Histoire de l’Observatoire de Paris de sa Fondation à 1793 Paris : Gauthiers-Villars . Acknowledgements

I am grateful to several people for their encouragement and help to be able to tell this story. They include Harry Blom (Springer), James Caplan (Observatoire de Marseille), Allan Chapman (Oxford), Jessica Fricchione (Springer), Mark Hurm (Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge), Peter Hingley (Royal Astronomical Society), Karel van der Hucht (International Astronomical Union, Paris), Odile Dubois (University of Reims), Eliane Jaouipylypiw (Roissy-en-Brie), Margarette Lincoln (National Maritime Museum), Tom Matheson (New Jersey), Dave Minett (Hastings), Amanda Smith (Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge), Curtis Wilson (SJCA). I am grateful to my wife Lesley for her support in researching this book, for translating Maupertuis’ “Poem for Christine”, and for accompanying me on our own adven- tures to places described in this book.

173 Index

A memorials to, 125–128, 160 Abbe, Cleveland, 136, 137, 140 (see also Arago memorial medallions) Academy of Sciences (Paris) and Paris Observatory, 112, 123 and Arago, 122–123 political activities, 124–125 and control of the Paris Observatory, and Polytechnic School, 111–112, 124 24–25 results of expedition, 122 establishment of Paris Observatory, 12–14 tomb of, 125 and expeditions to measure the shape visits to Britain, 124 of the Earth, 55–56, 63 youthful indiscretions, 114 founding of, 12, 161 Arago memorial medallions, 126–128, grand projets concept, xiii, 25, 39 152(fig.), 154(fig.) and Huygens, 41–42 and The Da Vinci Code, 151–152 and Institute de France, 164 walking tour of, 153–168 and Laplace, 122–123 Arctic Circle, 56, 63, 75. See also and remeasurement of Lapland expedition for , 94–95 Aristotle, 26 and speed of sound measurements, 35 Astronomie Populaire (Arago), 123 standardization of money and measures, Austria, 32–33, 114 87 (see also metric system) azimuth, 6 “action at a distance” concept, 50–51 Adams, John Couch, 137–139, 138(fig.) airports, location of, 131 B Airy, Sir George, 111, 131, 136 Balearic Islands, 111, 114–116, Alder, , 109 122, 125 Algiers, Arago’s adventures in, 117 , 90, 102 Allen, William F., 136 baseline measurements altitude sickness, 70 Cassini III’s remeasured Paris Meridian Amélie (film), 167 baseline, 33, 74–75 Arago, Emmanuel, 125 Lacaille’s meridian measurements Arago, Étienne, 125 (1740/1741), 33 Arago, François, xiv, 112(fig.) Maupertius’s remeasured Paris Meridian and Academy of Sciences, 122–123 baseline, 75 biographical summary, 111–112, 123–124 Méchain’s baseline on Desierto de las and Biot, 112–113 Palmas, 113 completion of southern remeasurement of method described, 16, 23 Paris Meridian, 111–122 Picard’s Paris Meridian baseline, difficulties of return journey, 117–122 17–20, 26 and Foucault pendulum, 123–124, 161 Bastille, 85–86 and Méchain, 111–112, 114 Bernoulli, Johann, 44–45, 51, 64

175 176 Index

Berthémie, M. (French Napoleonic officer), Brown, Dan, xiv, 77, 149–152, 165 116–117 Brugge, Thomas, 107 Biot, Jean-Baptiste Buffon, Georges, 72–73 and Arago, 112–113 Burattini, Tito Livio, 88, 90 biographical summary, 111 Bureau Internationale de l’Heure, completion of southern remeasurement 108, 143, 146 of Paris Meridian, 111–122 Bureau of Longitudes, 103 return to Paris for instrument repairs, 115 Burgi, Jobst, 17 visit to Britain, 125 Biot Number, 125 Biot-Savart Law, 125 C Blackett, P. M. S., 12 Campini, Giuseppe, 23 Bliss, Nathaniel, 131 Camus, Charles-Etienne-Louis Boise-Moi (film), 19 biographical summary, 59–60 Borda, Charles, 141 and expedition to Lapland, 56–63 biographical summary, 92 and remeasured baseline of Paris and Borda repeating circle, 91–94 Meridian, 75 and memorial, 127 Canada, 137 purged from Commission for Weights Canary Islands, 134, 139 and Measures, 100–101 Canigou, 32 Borda repeating circle, 91(fig.), 91–94, cannons, and timekeeping, 165–166 98, 115 Cap Gris Nez, 133 Bouguer, Pierre cardinal directions, 6–7 biographical summary, 65 Carpeaux, Jean-Baptiste, 162 and Peruvian expedition, 65–75 Carte de France de Cassini (1790), 37 strained relations with La Condamine, cartography. See ; maps; surveying 68–69, 73–74 and navigation instruments Bouguer anomaly, 70 Cassini, Angela, 32 Bourges, 103–104 Cassini, Gian Domenico (Cassini I), Boyle, Robert, 35 24(fig.) Bradley, James, 46, 131 biographical summary, 23 Brahe, Tycho, 26–27 death of, 34 Brazil, 141 and Huygens, 42 brigands, Arago and Biot’s troubles with, 115 and layout of Paris Meridian, 14, 18, Britain 20, 24, 26 Arago and Biot’s visits to, 124, 125 map of the interior of France, 31–34 capture of Arago’s homebound ship, map of the shoreline of France, 29–31 118–121 map of the world, 31 choice of Greenwich Meridian as Prime and Paris Observatory, 14, 23–24 Meridian of the world, 3, 135–142 research interests, 25 Doomsday Book, 11 and shape of Earth debate, 49, 52, geodesy in, 131–134 53, 64, 74 Greenwich Mean Time, 135–143 and shape of Jupiter, 45 and longitude problem, 129–131 and speed of sound measurements, 36 and metric system, 88, 140 Cassini, Jacques (Cassini II) and Napoleonic Wars, 114–115, 118–121 and map of the interior of France, 32, 34 ordnance maps, 131–132 and memorial in Cassini Room, 14 rapprochement with France following and Paris Observatory, 24 American War of Independence, 133 and shape of Earth debate, 49, 53, 74 status of instrument makers, 94 Cassini, Jean-Dominique (Cassini IV; and War of the Spanish Succession, 32–33 Comte de Thury) See also Greenwich Meridian; Royal and Borda repeating circle, 98 Observatory; Royal Society and craftsmen’s guilds, 93–94 Index 177

difficulties with described, 77 government, 25, 103 and , 84 and Greenwich–Paris link, 133 Le Monnier’s solstice later life, 25 observations at, 84 and Louis XIV, 98 meridiana at, 77–84, 151 and Paris Observatory, 25 rebuilding of, 77–78 publication of Carte de France de and timekeeping, 79 Cassini, 37 and walking tour, 156, 163 and remeasurement of Paris Meridian Cité Universitaire, 153–154, 159 for metric system, 95 Clairaut, Alexis-Claude, 45, 52, 53 and standardization of measure- and expedition to Lapland, 56–63 ment, 90 and the Marquise de Châtelet, 55 treatment of instrument makers, 94 and news of Lapland expedition’s Cassini de Thury, César-François success, 72 (Cassini III), 74(fig.) and remeasured baseline of Paris and British geodesy, 132 Meridian, 75 death of, 37 Clermont, Comte de, 79 as director of Paris Observatory, 25 drawings of triangulation techniques, and the bell of St. Sulpice, 79 15–16(figs) cannons and timekeeping, 165–166 and map of the interior of France, chronometer, 131 34(fig.), 34–35, 37 Jupiter’s satellites as natural clocks, remeasurement of Paris Meridian 7–8, 8(fig.) (see also Jupiter) baseline, 33, 74–75 master clocks and navigational Cassini Room, 13(fig.), 14, 24 satellites, 144 Cassini spacecraft, 25 mechanical clocks, 41 Castillo de Montjuïc, 102 world-wide unification of timekeeping, Cavelier, René Robert (Sieur de La Salle), 9 135–143 , Anders, 56, 59, 65–67 See also pendulum Celsius scale, 65 Clop de Galazo (Majorca), 116 Cemetery of Montmartre, 158, 167 Cohen, I. Bernard, 95 Chabrol, M. de, 166 Colbert, Jean-Baptiste Chaix, Señor (Spanish commissioner), 113 biographical summary, 11 Chalgrin, Jean-François, 81 and Cassini I, 23 Challis, James, 139 death of, 31 Chambers, Ephraim, 86 founding of the Academy of Sciences, Chandrasekhar, Subramanyan, 45 12, 161 Charles II of , 12, 129–130 and Huygens, 41 Charles II of , 32 inventory of France, 11–12 Charles IV of Spain, 116 and maps of France, 14, 31 of France, 124 Collingwood, Cuthbert, 118–120 Chastellet, Florent Claude, 55 Columbus, Christopher, 39 Château de Belle-Assise, 99–100 Columns of Buren, 165 Château de Thury, 25 Committee of Public Safety, 100–101 Châtelet, Marquise de (Gabrielle Émilie Condorcet, Marquis de (Marie-Jean-Antoine- Le Tonnelier de Breteuil), Nicholas de Caritat), 87 45, 54–55 Continental Blockade, 120 Chemetov, Paul, 4 continental drift, 144, 146 China, 1–2, 95 “coopertition,” 134 Christian IV of and , 27 Corday, Charlotte, 95 chronometer, 131 Coroenne, Henri, 96 Church of St. Sulpice, 151 , Charles-Augustin de, and The Da Vinci Code, 150–151 100–101, 127 178 Index

Council of Nicaea (325), 78 E The Count of Monte Cristo (Dumas), 121 Earth Crespo, Juan Jiménez, 71 circumference of, 90 “culmination” of a star, 6, 7(fig.) irregularities in motion of, 143–144 currency, 12, 87 rotation of, 143–144 shape of (see Earth, shape of) size of, 39 D tilt of axis, 84, 144 The Da Vinci Code (Brown), xiv, 77, Earth, shape of, 39–75 149–152, 165 Arago and Biot’s results, 122 D’Alembert, Jean Le Rond, 86 and Cassini I’s measurements, 49, 52 d’Angers, Pierre-Jean David, 125–126 and changes in length of a degree of D’Arrest, H. C., 139 , 47, 47(fig.), 63–65, 74 Davalos, Don Joseph, 70 evidence for deviations from simple David, Jacques-Louis, 95 ellipsoid, 125 David, Pierre-Jean, 164 evidence for deviations from sphericity, Davioud, Gabriel, 162 40–43, 52 De Stella Nova (Brahe), 26–27 evidence for sphericity, 39, 40(fig.) (David), 95 and gravitational deflection of plumb decimal , 17 bobs by local topography, 33, 65 Declaration of the Rights of Man, 87 and Lapland expedition, 56–65 Deism, 84 Mairan’s proposals, 49–50 Delambre, Jean-Baptiste-Joseph, and Peruvian expedition, 65–75 96(fig.), 155 and remeasurement of Paris Meridian on Cassini family, 32 for metric system, 94–105, 107 compilation of results and discovery of and theories of , 2, 30, 39, 43–47, irregularities in Méchain’s work, 46(fig.), 49–52, 63–65 109–110 and the tides, 51 difficulties with revolutionary Easter, date of, 78 government, 100–101, 103, 104 Eco, Umberto, 124 and Eiffel Tower memorial, 127 Ecuador, expedition to. See Peruvian and presentation of findings, 106–107 expedition and remeasurement of Paris Meridian Eiffel Tower, 126–128 for metric system, 95–97, 98–101 L’Encyclopédie (Diderot and D’Alembert), 86 Delille, Jacques, 73, 165 England. See Britain Delisle, Joseph-Nicholas, 52 Denmark. See as obvious zero point of latitude, 3, 5 Derham, William, 36 Peruvian expedition (1735–1744; modern Descartes, René, 49–52 Ecuador), 56, 65–75 Desierto de las Palmas, 113, 116 and shape of the Earth, 43, 45, Dey of Algiers, 117 46–47(figs), 47, 49, 55, 74 Dibbets, Jan, 126–128. See also Arago and variations in the Earth’s axis memorial medallions of rotation, 144 Diderot, Denis, 86 Eratosthenes, 39 Digges, Leonard, 132 European Terrestrial Reference System Digges, Thomas, 132 (ETRS89), 146 Dolland, John, 94 European Union, 146 Doomsday Book, 11 Dowd, Charles, 136 Dumas, Alexandre, 121 F Dunkerque, 4(fig.), 34, 56, 133, 134 Fairlight, 133 Dupain, Edmond Louis, 14 Fargo (film), 149 Durangel, Léopold, 24 Felipe V of Spain, 66–68 Index 179

Fellman, E. A., 53 and Méchain’s southern expedition, Ferdinand VII of Spain, 116 101–106 First Estate, 85 and meridiana at Church of St. Sulpice, 84 Flammarion, Camille, 19 and metric system, 87–110 Flamsteed, John, 25, 46, 129–131 origins and early events, 85–87 Fleming, Sanford, 140 and the Paris Observatory, 86 Fontainebleau, 17 purge of scientists by Committee Fontenelle, Bernard Le Bovier de, 52 of Pubic Safety, 100–101, 113 Formentera, 115, 116, 122(table) reform of French institutions, 87 Foucault, Jean Bernard Léon and remeasurement of Paris Meridian biographical summary, 123 for metric system, 94–105 and Foucault pendulum, 123–124, status of scientists, 86–87, 95 161, 162 tomb of, 158, 167 Foucault pendulum, 123–124, 156, G 161, 162, 163 , 7–8, 8(fig.), 41 Foucault’s Pendulum (Eco), 124 GALILEO navigational system, 146 Fountain of the Observatory, 162 Galle, J. G., 139 franc, 12 Gassendi, Pierre, 35 France Gay-Lussac, Joseph Louis, 112, 122, 126 Colbert’s inventory, 11–12 General Theory of Relativity, 51 end of Republic, 125 General Time Conference (1883), 136 hexagonal shape of borders, 3, 4(fig.) geodesy, 65–74 L’Incroyable Pique-nique of the year 2000, in Britain, 131–134 3–4, 6 contrast between French and British Napoleonic Wars, 111–128 methods, 133–134 ’s abdication and exile, defined/described, 9, 15(fig.) 124–125 errors caused by local geology, 33, 65, 70 and negotiations over choice of Prime errors caused by misaligned zenith Meridian and metric system, sector, 65 135–142 in France (see maps; Paris Meridian) rapprochement with Britain following geodesy proposed as test of gravitational American War of Independence, 133 theories, 53–56 (see also Earth, shape size of country determined to be smaller of) than previously thought, 10(fig.), Greenwich Meridian linked to Paris 30–31 Meridian, 133–134 standardization of weights and measures, Lapland expedition (see Lapland 2 (see also metric system) expedition) and War of the Spanish Succession, and mathematical innovations, 17 32–33 in the , 14–17 war with Spain, 102 Peruvian expedition (see Peruvian See also Academy of Sciences; French expedition) Revolution; geodesy; maps; Paris in Spain, 90, 95, 101–103, 113–122 Meridian; Paris Observatory; specific See also baseline measurements; Earth, places shape of; latitude; maps; surveying and Frederick II of Denmark and Norway, 27 navigation instruments; triangulation French Revolution, 85–110 geometry, distinguished and change in status of instrument from geodesy, 9 makers, 94 George III of England, 132 and civil unrest in Spain, 101, 114–115 GLOSNAST navigational system, 145 and Delambre’s northern expedition, gnomon, 80(fig.), 81, 82 98–101 Godin, Louis, 55, 65–74, 67(fig.) execution of Louis XVI, 102, 103 Gonzales, Captain, 101 180 Index

GPS navigational system, 145–147 HMS Volontaire, 121 grad, as unit of angle, 141 Holbein, Hans, 164 Graham, George, 59, 94 Hollinworth, John, 118–121 Grameson, Isabel, 73 Hooke, Robert, 45 gravitational deflection of plumb bobs, Horologium Oscillatorum (Huygens), 41–43 33, 65 Hounslow Heath, 131 gravitational influence on , 70 Hoyle, Fred, 95 gravity, theories of, 30 Huygens, Christiaan, 36, 41–43 Cartesian vs. Newtonian theory, Huygens space probe, 42 49–52 geodesy proposed as test of theories, 53–56 I and lunar motion, 131 L’Incroyable Pique-nique, 3–4, 6 Mairan’s proposals, 49–50 Institute de France, 164 and pendulum clock, 43 instrument-making, and guild politics, 93–94. and Picard’s of position of See also surveying and navigation Uraniborg, 26–28 instruments and shape of the Earth, 2, 30, 43–48, International Geographical Conference (1871), 56–65 135–136 Green Meridian (La Méridienne Verte), International Geographical Conference (1875), 4–5, 5(fig.), 162 136 Greenberg, John, 49 International Geographical Conference (1895), Greenwich Mean Time, 135–143 141 Greenwich Meridian, xiv International Terrestrial Reference Frame chosen as of the world, (ITRF), 146 3, 135–142 Io, 28 fading status as active scientific device, Islamic world, 7 142, 147 linked to Paris Meridian, 6, 133–134 nautical maps based on, 134–135, 139 J and Universal Time (Coordinated), 143 Janssen, Jules, 137(fig.), 137–139, 141 Greenwich Observatory. See Royal Jardin des Halles, 157 Observatory Jardin de l’Observatoire, 160 Gruby, David, 159 Jardin du Luxembourg, 156 Guedi, Denis, 97 Jardin de Luxembourg, 162–163 guilds, 93–94 Jardin de Marco Polo, 162 Guimard, Hector, 167 Juan y Santacilia, Jorge, 66–67, 72, 74, 75 , 56–63 Jupiter Guyana, 43 accuracy of satellite eclipse measurements improved by speed of corrections, 28 H Cassini I’s observations of satellites as Hadley, John, 131 natural clocks, 25 Halley, Edmund, 45, 131 Galileo’s discovery of satellites and their Harrison, John, 131 use as natural clocks, 7–8, 8(fig.) Haussmann, Baron Georges-Eugène, 162 and navigation, 28–29, 129 Heathrow Airport, 131 satellite timing technique described, 27–28 helium, discovery of, 139 satellites used to determine longitude, 8, Hellant, Anders, 56–63 21, 28, 29, 129 Herschel, Sir John, 133, 135 satellites used to determine position of Herstmonceaux, 143 Uraniborg, 27–28 Hierro (Canary Islands), 134, 139 shape of planet, 45 HMS Minstrel, 118–120 Juvisy, 4(fig.), 17, 19, 26, 33, 75 Index 181

K Lautrec, Toulouse, 167 Kepler, Johannes, 27 Lavoisier, Antoine, 100–101, 126 Kepler’s laws of planetary motion, 28, 45, 50 Le Fèvre, Jean, 33 Keroulle, Louise de (Duchess of Portsmouth), Le Monnier, Louis-Guillaume 129 biographical summary, 35, 56–57 König, Samuel, 53–55 and expedition to Lapland, 56–63 and meridiana at Church of St. Sulpice, 77–84, 151 L and remeasured baseline La Condamine, Charles-Marie de, 39, 55, of Paris Meridian, 75 66(fig.) solstice observations at St. Sulpice, 84 biographical summary, 65 and walking tour, 157 and Peruvian expedition, 65–75 Le Tellier, François (Marquis de Louvois), strained relations with Bouguer, 68–69, 31–32 73–74 league, 30 La Hire, Philippe de, 10(fig.), 29–34, 30(fig.) Leconte, A., 153 Lacaille, Nicholas Louis, 33, 35, 75 Lefrançais de Lalande, Michel, 98, 99 Laistre, Geneviève de, 23 Legendre, Adrien-Marie, 98, 133 Lalande, Joseph-Jérôme, 96–98, 103, 126 Legendre’s theorem, 133 Lambert, William, 135 Leibnitz, Gottfried, 43 Langlois, Claude, 57–58, 79 Leinberg, Yrjö, 65 Languet, Jean-Baptiste-Joseph, 78–79 length, units of Laplace, Pierre-Simon league, 30 biographical summary, 113 , 43 and Eiffel Tower memorial, 126 meter (see metric system) and need for world-wide longitude system, mille, mile, 90 135 nautical mile, 90 and nominations for the Academy of pied du roi, 35, 87 Science, 122 pouce, 87–88 and proposal of Biot and Arago, 112–113 , 17, 50 purged from Commission for Weights and Lenoir, Étienne, 92–94 Measures, 100–101, 113 Leon, Diego de, 71 Lapland expedition (1734–1737), 56–63 Leopold II of Austria, 98 hardships of, 57–60 Letters from England (), 51 measurement techniques, 57–60, 63 Leverrier, J. J., 13(fig.) results of, 63–65, 72 Leverrier, Urbain, 123, 127, 139, 161 latitude Lieusaint, 104 changes in length of a degree due to shape light of the Earth, 47, 47(fig.), 63–65, 74 speed of, 28, 32, 123 defined, 5 wave vs. particle theory of, 123 length of a degree at the Arctic Circle, 63, light-second, 108 75 ligne, 43 length of a degree at the equator, 74, 75 Linné, Carl von, 65 length of a degree for extended Paris livre, 12 Meridian, 116, 122(table) logarithms, 17 length of a degree across Paris, 26, 75 longitude and navigation, 5–6 choice of Greenwich Meridian as Prime and navigational satellites, 144–147 Meridian of the world, 3, 135–142 and variations in the Earth’s axis of defined, 5 rotation, 144 determination from lunar observations, 129 and zenith sector, 59 determination from observations of See also Earth, shape of; geodesy; Paris Jupiter’s satellites, 8, 21, 28, 29, 129 Meridian and Flamsteed, 129–131 182 Index longitude (cont.) Maraldi, Giovanni Domenico (Maraldi II), 35 and Greenwich–Paris link, 133 Marat, Jean-Paul, 95 and navigation, 5–6, 28–29, 129–131 Marie-Antoinette of Austria, 85, 98 and navigational satellites, 144–147 Mars Climate Orbiter spacecraft, 88, 89(fig.) need for world-wide unification of, 135 Marseille, Arago’s extreme difficulties in Paris Meridian as French zero returning to, 118–121 of longitude, 7 Marseille Observatory, 121–122 and variations in the Earth’s axis Maskelyne, Neville, 131 of rotation, 144 Maupertius, Pierre de, 52–65, 54(fig.) Louis XIV of France, 11 biographical summary, 53 and Academy of Sciences, 12 and Christine Planström, 62 and Cassini’s map of the world, 31 and debate over theories of gravity, 52–53 death of, 33 expedition to Lapland, 56–63, 61(fig.) and Paris Observatory, 14, 161 and the Marquise de Châtelet, 55 and reduction in the size of France, 30 memorials to, 65 Louis XV of France, 25, 33, 66–68, 163 and outcome of Lapland expedition, 63–65 Louis XVI of France, 85, 98–99, 102, 103 remeasured baseline of Paris Meridian, 75 Louis XVIII of France, 124 and Voltaire, 53, 55 Louisiana Territory, 9 Maurepas, Count Jean-Fréderic Phélypeaux Louvre Museum, 150, 152, 156–157, 164–165 de, 68, 72 Lugo, Cardinal Juan de, 73 The Measure of the World (Guedi), 97 measurement. See geodesy; length, units of; metric system; standardization of M weights and measures; surveying and Madrid, meridian based on, 134 navigation instruments Mairan, Jean-Jacques D’Ortous de, 49, 63–64 Méchain, Barbe-Thérèse, 106 Majorca, 116–117 Méchain, Pierre-François-André, 97(fig.) Manchecourt, 5(fig.) and Arago, 111–112, 114 maps biographical summary, 97–98 British military maps, 131–132 death of, 109, 112 Carte de France de Cassini (1790), 37 depression and subterfuge resulting from Cassini I’s map of the world (1696), 31 observation errors, 102, 104–109 confusion caused by maps based on as Director of Paris Observatory, 107, 108 different meridians, 134 discovery of comet, 102 International Map of the World (proposed), expedition into southern France and Spain 141 to remeasure Paris Meridian, 95, Map of France Corrected by Order 101–106 of the King (, 1683 and Greenwich–Paris link, 133 and 1693), 10(fig.), 30–31 reluctant return to Paris, 107 map of France showing Paris Meridian and mechanical clocks, 41 places in the text, 4(fig.) medallions. See Arago memorial medallions Map of the Paris Region (Picard and meridian, 6. See also Greenwich Meridian; Cassini, 1678), 26 longitude; Paris Meridian map-making (see geodesy) meridiana at Cathedral of Saint-Etienne, 104 nautical maps and the choice of Prime meridiana at Church of St. Sulpice, 77–84, Meridian, 134–135, 139 80(fig.), 82(fig.) Sanson’s compilation of summary works La Méridienne Verifiée (Cassini III), 75 from Colbert’s inventory, 12 La Méridienne Verte, 4–5, 5(fig.) shoreline of France (Picard and Cassini Mersenne, Marin, 35, 42 1672–1683), 29–31 Mersenne prime numbers, 42 surveys and maps of the interior of France meteorites, 111 (1683–1790), 30–37, 34(fig.) metric system, 87–122 Maraldi, Giacomo (Maraldi I), 32, 34 and Borda repeating circle, 90–94, 98 Index 183

Convention on the Meter (1875), 88 and British navy, 118–121 grad as unit of angle, 141 and civil unrest in Spain, 101, 114–115 international acceptance of, 88, 106–107, Spanish rebellion, 116 140–142 Nautical Almanac, 131 marble meters as public reference nautical mile, 90 standards, 108, 163 navigation modern definitions of the meter, 108 and British maps, 131–132 origins of, 2, 88, 90 and choice of Greenwich Meridian as standard measure, as Prime Meridian, 139 107–108 and chronometer, 131 and purge of scientists by Committee confusion caused by maps based on of Pubic Safety, 100–101 different meridians, 134–135 and remeasurement of Paris Meridian, early techniques, 6 94–105, 107 navigational satellites, 144–147, underlying principles and definition 145(fig.) of the meter, 1, 87–88, 90 need for accurate latitude and longitude mettro cattaolico, 88 measurements, 5–6, 129–131 Micromegas (Voltaire), 53 and sextant, 92, 131 mille, mile, 90 and tables of eclipse predictions for Miller, Henri de, 157 Jupiter’s satellites, 28–29 Ministère de l’Éducation Nationale, 158 Nebula Hypothesis (Laplace), 113 mire Neptune, 123, 139, 161 at Montmartre, 22–23 Netherlands, 14–17, 32–33 near Moulin de la Galette, 159, 161, 168 Newcomb, Simon, 137 at Parc de Montsouris, 160 Newton, Isaac, 44(fig.) Mirifici logarithmorum canonis description biographical summary, 43 (Napier), 17 calculations on the shape of the Earth, Mitterrand, François, 164, 165 48(table) Mongo (mountain), 115, 116 and Huygens, 42 monks, Arago and Biot’s troubles with, 113 and pendulum clock, 43, 52 Montjuïc, 102, 104, 109, 122(table) and standardization of length Montmartre, 22–23, 98, 99 measurement, 88 cemetery of, 158, 167 theory of gravity and the shape and walking tour, 161, 166–168 of the Earth, 2, 43–52 Moon, 25, 46, 129 Noël, Denis-Nicolas, 100 Motte, Andrew, 45 North Celestial Pole, 7 Moulin de la Galette, 22, 159, 161, 167–168 Norwood, Richard, 47 Moulin Rouge, 167 Mount Campvey, 113–114, 116 Mount Corazon, 70 O Mouton, Gabriel, 90 observatories. See Paris Observatory; Mudge, William, 125, 132 Royal Observatory (Greenwich) Municipal Library, 159 octant, 22(fig.), 131 Murdin, Lesley, 62 Opera House, 166 ordnance survey grid (England), 132 Orly Airport, 17, 18(fig.) N Outhier, Abbé Réginald, 56–63 Napier, John, 17 Napoleon Bonaparte, 110, 124 Napoleon III, 125, 162 P Napoleonic Wars, 111–128 Palais Royal, 157, 165 and Arago and Biot’s expedition to finish Panthéon, 122(table), 124, 156, 163 Méchain’s measurements, 113–122 Parc de Montsouris, 153–154, 159–160 184 Index

Paris Meridian and Peruvian expedition, 70 Cassini III’s remeasured baseline, 74–75 and temperature changes, 42–43 completion of southern remeasurement variability in length of pendulum during Napoleonic Wars, 111–122 as evidence for non-spherical Earth, defined/described, 1, 5–7 40–43, 52 and definition of the meter, 1, 90, 107 and variations at the same latitude, 125 depicted on Cassini III’s 1744 map See also of the interior of France, 34(fig.) Perrault, Claude, 13 depicted on Philippe de la Hire’s 1683 Peruvian expedition (1735–1744; modern map of France, 10(fig.), 31 Ecuador), 65–75 Dibbets’s Arago memorial medallions hardships of, 69–71 laid along, 126–128 (see also Arago measurement techniques, 69 memorial medallions) natural history achievements, 70, extension to northern and southern 72–73 borders of France, 31–35 and news of Lapland expedition’s fading status as active scientific device, success, 72 147 political and diplomatic issues, 66–67, and law of universal gravitation, 2 71–72 layout of Paris Meridian following problems with zenith sector, 72 establishment of baseline, 19–22 results of, 74–75 linked to Greenwich Meridian, 6, strained relations between La Condamine 133–134 and Bouguer, 68–69, 73–74 not chosen as Prime Meridian Philip II (Du d’Orleans), 33 of the world, xiv, 2–3, 134–142 Philip V of Spain, 32 and Paris Observatory, 14, 24 Picard, Abbé ’s baseline, 17–20, 26, 75 baseline for Paris Meridian, 17–20, remeasured during French Revolution, 26, 75 94–105 biographical summary, 14 and speed of sound measurements, death of, 31 35–36 layout of Paris Meridian following walking tour of Arago memorial establishment of baseline, 19–22, 26 medallions, 153–168 and map of France, 14, 29–31 Paris Observatory, 13(fig.) and mire at Montmartre, 23 and Arago, 112, 123 observations of temperature-dependent Arago memorial medallions at, 155 length changes in iron rods, 43 Cassini Room, 13(fig.), 14, 24 and size of the Earth, 48 control by the Academy, 24–25 and speed of sound measurements, 36 described, 13–14 theories of gravity and measurements Director position, 25 of Uraniborg position, 26–28 establishment of, 12–14 pied du roi as , 87–88 Foucault pendulum at, 124 Place des Abbesses, 158 and French Revolution, 86, 103 Planström, Elizabeth and Christine, and Paris Meridian, 14, 24 62, 64 telescopes, 23–24 plenum hypothesis, 50–51 and walking tour, 160–161 plumb bob, 21, 33, 65 See also Cassini headings Poisson, Denis, 112, 122–123 Pei, I. M., 164, 165 Poland, 114 Pelletot, M. de, 62 Polaris, 7 Penck, Albrecht, 141 Polytechnic School, 111–112, 124 pendulum clock Pomégue (island), 121 and Lapland expedition, 63 Ponchartrain, Comte de, 32 and local geology, 70 Pond, John, 131 origin of concept, 41 Pons, Jean-Louis, 121 Index 185

Portugal, 114 Rucu Pichincha, 70 pouce, 87–88 Rudolf II, Emperor, 27 , James, 45–46 Ruelle, Alexandre, 103 Prime Meridian Russia, 114, 145 choice of, xiv, 2–3, 135–142 ruttiers, 6 current definition, 146–147 See also Greenwich Meridian; Paris Meridian S prime numbers, 42 Saint-Etienne, Cathedral of, 104 Principia (Newton), 43, 45, 49 Saint-Lambert, Jean François de, 55 Principle of Least Action, 53 Sanson, Nicolas, 12, 14 Priory of Sion, 149, 151 Santo Domingo, 141 Prison de la Santé, 160 Santorio, Santorio, 41 Ptolemy, 139 satellites, navigation, 144–147, La Pyramide, 18(fig.) 145(fig.) Saturn, 25, 42 Sauvage, A., 160 Q savants, 86, 95 Qin, Emperor, 1–2 scientifiques, 95 quadrant, 58(fig.), 91, 92 Second Estate, 85 quasars, 144, 146 seconds pendulum Quesada, Francisco, 71 and standard unit of length, 88, 90 Quesada, Manuela, 71 variability in length as evidence for quinine, 73 non-spherical Earth, 40–43, 52 Quito, 69, 71 variation in length due to temperature, 42–43 Senate House, 156, 162 R Seniègues, Jean, 71–72 railways, and unification of timekeeping, sextant, 92, 131 135–138 Islands, 124, 125 Ramsay, William, 139 ships Ramsden, Jesse, 94, 98, 132–133 British capture of Arago’s homebound repeating circle, 90–92, 91(fig.) ship, 118–121 Richer, Jean, 43, 44 shipwrecks, 63 River Tornea, 57–63 See also navigation Riviera, Francisca Henriquez de Short, James, 94 (Countess of El Chinchon), 73 Smyth, Charles Piazzi, 139 Robespierre, Maximilien, 100 Snell van Roijen, Willebrord, 14–15, 17 Rodriguez, Señor (Spanish commissioner), Société des Arts, 79 113 solar system, and Descartes’ plenum Rømer, Ole, 28, 36 hypothesis, 51. See also Jupiter; Moon; Roy, William, 132, 133 Neptune; Saturn; Sun; Uranus Royal Observatory (Greenwich), 25, 28, sound, speed of, 35–36 129–131, 130(fig.), 143 South Africa, 33 Royal Society (London) Spain and Delambre’s difficulties with the Arago and Biot’s expedition to finish revolutionary government, 103 Méchain’s measurements, 113–122 founding of, 12 civil unrest, 101, 114–115 and Huygens, 42 Madrid Meridian, 134 and Newton’s Principia, 45 Méchain’s expedition to remeasure Paris and standardization of length Meridian, 95, 101–103 measurement, 88 and negotiations over choice of Prime status of instrument makers, 94 Meridian and metric system, 140 186 Index

Spain (cont.) chronometer, 131 and Paris Meridian survey for metric craftsmen’s guilds, 93–94 system, 90 octant, 22(fig.), 131 and Peruvian expedition, 66–68, 71 plumb bob, 21, 33, 65 rebellion following abdication of Charles quadrant, 58(fig.), 91, 92 IV, 116 sextant, 92, 131 War of the Spanish Succession, 32–33 theodolite, 15, 22, 98, 132–133 war with France, 102 zenith sector, 59, 65, 72 See also specific places Svanberg, Jöns, 64–65, 75 spider webs, as telescope cross-hairs, 22 , expedition to (1734–1737), Sputnik satellite, 144 56–63 St. Germain , 163 Swiss Guards, 165 St. Pierre, Le Sieur de, 129–130 St. Sulpice, church of. See Church of St. Sulpice T standardization of weights and measures Table Mountain, 33 alternate proposals for, 88, 90 Tallyrand, Charles, 87 in Britain, 88 Tarqui, 70, 72 in China, 1–2 telescopes and French Revolution, 2, 87–88 and Borda repeating circle, 91–94 negotiations over choice of Prime Meridian and craftsmen’s guilds, 93 and metric system, 134–142 difficulties with using for navigation, role in uniting political regions, 1–2 28–29 Toise du Nord, 50 at Paris Observatory, 23–24 See also metric system as part of triangulation tools, 22–23, 91 stars, position of suspicion caused by, 100 azimuth, 6–7 temperature, and changes in length and Borda repeating circle, 92 of metal objects, 42–43 and British maps, 131–132 temperature scale, 65 culmination, 6, 7(fig.) theodolite, 15, 22, 98, 132–133 and determination of the cardinal points, 6–7 Third Estate, 85 diurnal parallax method, 26 Thury, Comte de. See Cassini, and octant, 22(fig.) Jean-Dominique (Cassini IV) and quadrant, 92 tides, 51 and transit instruments, 131 timekeeping, unification of, 135–143. and , 26–27 See also clocks Steuben, Charles, 112 toise, 17 Stevin, Simon, 90 Toise du Nord, 50 Stirling, James, 64 Tornio, 57–63 Stjerneborg, 27 Tour de Montlhéry, 36 Sully, Henry, 79 Tournières, Robert, 56 Sun Tranchot, Citizen, 101 and Descartes’ plenum hypothesis, 51 transit circle, 131 and discovery of helium, 139 tree planting along La Méridienne Verte, 4–5 haloes around, 70 triangulation, 15–16(figs), 15–17 and meridiana at Church of St. Sulpice, and Cathedral of Saint-Etienne, 104 77–84 and Greenwich–Paris link, 133 , 77–84, 157, 164–165 layout of Paris Meridian following surveying. See geodesy; maps; Paris Meridian establishment of baseline, 19–22, 26 surveying and navigation instruments, 99, tools for (see surveying and navigation 126–128 instruments) Borda repeating circle, 90–94, 91(fig.), See also baseline measurements; geodesy 98, 115 Tuileries, 99 Index 187

U W Ulloa, Antonio de, 66, 67, 69, 73, 75 War of the Spanish Succession, 32–33, 42 United States Washington Conference (1884), 134, 137–142 and British–French relations, 133 Wendelin, Godefroy, 42 and metric system, 88, 140 Werner, Johann, 129 and negotiations over choice William the Conqueror, 11 of Prime Meridian, 135–140 windmills, 167–168. See also Moulin de la railways and the unification Galette of timekeeping, 135–138 witchcraft, 37, 116 Universal Time (Coordinated), 143 World Geodetic System (WGS84), 146 Uraniborg, 26–27 Wren, Christopher, 45, 130 Uranus, 123, 139

Y V Young, Thomas, 123 Valencia, 116 Vermeer, Jan, 164 Villejuif, 4(fig.), 17, 19, 20(fig.), 26, 75 Z Viviani, Vincenzo, 41 zenith sector, 59, 65, 72 Voltaire, 51–53, 55, 64 von Humboldt, Alexander, 122