Stockton, Wiltshire

Mathematical Gazetteer of the British Isles

Samuel Fyler was rector of Stockton, Wiltshire, in 1699 when he proposed a solution of the longitude problem by using the stars as a clock. That is, if one knew that a star was directly above Greenwich at midnight, then observing when it was overhead by local time would determine one's longitude. Unfortunately the requisite data did not yet exist. [1]

References (show)

1. Sobel, Dava. Longitude. Walker Publishing, NY?, 1995; Fourth Estate, London, 1996. pp.45-46

The Mathematical Gazetteer of the British Isles was created by David Singmaster.
The original site is at THIS LINK.