Longitude rewards

For the inducement prize contest established in 2014, see Longitude Prize.
Longitude lines on the globe

The longitude rewards were the system of inducement prizes offered by the British government for a simple and practical method for the precise determination of a ship's longitude at sea. The prizes, established through an Act of Parliament (the Longitude Act) in 1714, were administered by the Board of Longitude.

This was by no means the first reward to be offered to solve this problem. Philip II of Spain offered one in 1567, Philip III in 1598 offered 6,000 ducats and a pension,[1] whilst the States General of the Netherlands offered 10,000 florins shortly after.[2] In 1675 Robert Hooke wanted to apply for a £1,000 reward in England for his invention of a spring-regulated watch.[3] However, these large sums were never won, though several people were awarded smaller amounts for significant achievements.

  1. ^ O'Connor, J J; Robertson, E F (1997). "Longitude and the Académie Royale". MacTutor History of Mathematics.
  2. ^ Bell, A.E. (1950). The Life of Christian Huygens. Edward Arnold, London. p. 35.
  3. ^ Inwood, Stephen (2002). The Man Who Knew Too Much. Macmillan. p. 200.