International Meridian Conference
Encyclopedia
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to determine the Prime Meridian
Prime Meridian
The Prime Meridian is the meridian at which the longitude is defined to be 0°.The Prime Meridian and its opposite the 180th meridian , which the International Date Line generally follows, form a great circle that divides the Earth into the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.An international...
of the world. The conference was held at the request of U.S. President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Chester A. Arthur
Chester A. Arthur
Chester Alan Arthur was the 21st President of the United States . Becoming President after the assassination of President James A. Garfield, Arthur struggled to overcome suspicions of his beginnings as a politician from the New York City Republican machine, succeeding at that task by embracing...
.
The subject to discuss was the choice of «a meridian to be employed as a common zero of longitude and standard of time reckoning throughout the world» (Proceedings of the 1884 International Meridian Conference, page 7)
Participants
Twenty-five nations, represented by 41 delegates, participated in the conference:- Austria-HungaryAustria-HungaryAustria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
- BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
- ChileChileChile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
- ColombiaColombiaColombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
- Costa RicaCosta RicaCosta Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
- DenmarkDenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
- FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
- GermanyGerman EmpireThe German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
- Great BritainUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and IrelandThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
- GuatemalaGuatemalaGuatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
- HawaiiKingdom of HawaiiThe Kingdom of Hawaii was established during the years 1795 to 1810 with the subjugation of the smaller independent chiefdoms of Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lānai, Kauai and Niihau by the chiefdom of Hawaii into one unified government...
- ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
- JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
- MexicoMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
- NetherlandsNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
- ParaguayParaguayParaguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
- RussiaRussian EmpireThe Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
- SalvadorEl SalvadorEl Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
- San DomingoDominican RepublicThe Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
- SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
- Sweden-Norway
- SwitzerlandSwitzerlandSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
- Ottoman EmpireOttoman EmpireThe Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
- United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
- VenezuelaVenezuelaVenezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
Resolutions
The following resolutions were adopted by the conference:- That it is the opinion of this Congress that it is desirable to adopt a single prime meridian for all nations, in place of the multiplicity of initial meridians which now exist.
- That the Conference proposes to the Governments here represented the adoption of the meridian passing through the centre of the transit instrument at the Observatory of Greenwich as the initial meridian for longitude.
- That from this meridian longitude shall be counted in two directions up to 180 degrees, east longitude being plus and west longitude minus.
- That the Conference proposes the adoption of a universal day for all purposes for which it may be found convenient, and which shall not interfere with the use of local or standard time where desirable.
- That this universal day is to be a mean solar day; is to begin for all the world at the moment of mean midnight of the initial meridian, coinciding with the beginning of the civil day and date of that meridian; and is to be counted from zero up to twenty-four hours.
- That the Conference expresses the hope that as soon as may be practicable the astronomical and nautical days will be arranged everywhere to begin at midnight.
- That the Conference expresses the hope that the technical studies designed to regulate and extend the application of the decimal system to the division of angular space and of time shall be resumed, so as to permit the extension of this application to all cases in which it presents real advantages.
Resolution 2, fixing the meridian at Greenwich, was passed 22–1 (San Domingo, now the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
, voted against); France and Brazil abstained. The French did not adopt the Greenwich meridian until 1911.
Resolution 4 expressly exempts standard time from the universal day. Although two delegates, including Sandford Fleming
Sandford Fleming
Sir Sandford Fleming, was a Scottish-born Canadian engineer and inventor, proposed worldwide standard time zones, designed Canada's first postage stamp, a huge body of surveying and map making, engineering much of the Intercolonial Railway and the Canadian Pacific Railway, and was a founding...
, proposed the adoption of standard time by all nations, other delegates objected, stating that it was outside the purview of the conference, so neither proposal was subjected to a vote. Thus the conference did not adopt any time zone
Time zone
A time zone is a region on Earth that has a uniform standard time for legal, commercial, and social purposes. In order for the same clock time to always correspond to the same portion of the day as the Earth rotates , different places on the Earth need to have different clock times...
s, contrary to popular belief.
Regarding resolution 6: Great Britain had already shifted the beginning of the nautical day from noon, twelve hours before midnight, to midnight in 1805, during the Battle of Trafalgar
Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....
. The astronomical day was shifted from noon, twelve hours after midnight, to midnight effective by a resolution of the newly formed International Astronomical Union
International Astronomical Union
The International Astronomical Union IAU is a collection of professional astronomers, at the Ph.D. level and beyond, active in professional research and education in astronomy...
.
Delegates
- Baron Ignatz von Schaeffer, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, on behalf of Austria-Hungary
- Dr. Luís Cruls, Director of the Imperial Observatory of Rio Janeiro, on behalf of Brazil
- Commodore S. R. Franklin, U.S. Navy, Superintendent U.S. Naval Observatory, on behalf of Colombia
- Mr. Juan Francisco Echeverria, Civil Engineer, on behalf of Costa Rica
- Mr. A. Lefaivre, Minister Plenipotentiary and Consul-General, on behalf of France
- Pierre Janssen, Director of the Physical Observatory of Paris, on behalf of France
- Baron H. von Alvensleben, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, on behalf of Germany
- Captain Sir F. J. O. Evans, Royal Navy, on behalf of Great Britain
- Prof. J. C. Adams, Director of the Cambridge Observatory, on behalf of Great Britain
- Lieut.-General Strachey, Member of the Council of India, on behalf of Great Britain
- Mr. Sandford FlemingSandford FlemingSir Sandford Fleming, was a Scottish-born Canadian engineer and inventor, proposed worldwide standard time zones, designed Canada's first postage stamp, a huge body of surveying and map making, engineering much of the Intercolonial Railway and the Canadian Pacific Railway, and was a founding...
, representing the Dominion of Canada, on behalf of Great Britain - M. Miles Rock, President of the Boundary Commission, on behalf of Guatemala
- Hon. W. D. Alexander, Surveyor-General, on behalf of Hawaii
- Hon. Luther Aholo, Privy Counsellor, on behalf of Hawaii
- Count Albert de Foresta, First Secretary of Legation, on behalf of Italy
- Professor Kikuchi, Dean of the Scientific Dep't of the University of Tokio, on behalf of Japan
- Mr. Leandro Fernandez, Civil Engineer, on behalf of Mexico
- Mr. Angel Anguiano, Director of the National Observatory of Mexico, on behalf of Mexico
- Captain John Stewart, Counsul-General, on behalf of Paraguay
- Mr. C. E Struve, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, on behalf of Russia
- Major-General Stebnitzki, Imperial Russian Staff, on behalf of Russia
- Mr. J. de Kologrivoff, Conseiller d'État actuel, on behalf of Russia
- Mr. M. de J. Galvan, Envoy extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, on behalf of San Domingo
- Mr. Antonio Batres, Envoy extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, on behalf of Salvador
- Mr. Juan Valera, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, on behalf of Spain
- Mr. Emilio Ruiz del Arbol, Naval Attaché to the Spanish Legation, on behalf of Spain
- Mr. Juan Pastorin, Officer of the Navy, on behalf of Spain
- Count Carl Lewenhaupt, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, on behalf of Sweden
- Colonel Emile Frey, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, on behalf of Switzerland
- Rear-Admiral C. R. P. Rodgers, U.S. Navy, on behalf of the United States
- M. Lewis Morris RutherfurdLewis Morris RutherfurdLewis Morris Rutherfurd was an American lawyer and astronomer, and a pioneering astrophotographer.- Life and work :...
on behalf of the United States - Mr. W. F. Allen, Secretary Railway Time Conventions, on behalf of the United States
- Commander W. T. Sampson, U.S. Navy, on behalf of the United States
- Professor Cleveland AbbeCleveland AbbeCleveland Abbe was an American meteorologist and advocate of time zones. While director of the Cincinnati Observatory in Cincinnati, Ohio, he developed a system of telegraphic weather reports, daily weather maps, and weather forecasts. Congress in 1870 established the U.S. Weather Bureau and...
, U.S. Signal Office, on behalf of the United States - Señor Dr. A. M. Soteldo, Chargé d'Affaires, on behalf of Venezuela
- Mr. Francisco Vidal GormazFrancisco Vidal GormazFrancisco Vidal Gormaz was a Chilean naval officer and hydrographer who explored the coasts of Chile including some river systems and lakes. During the 1850s he explored and surveyed several times Maullín River with Francisco Hudson...
, Director of the Hydrographic Office, on behalf of Chili - Mr. Alavaro Bianchi Tupper, Assistant Director, on behalf of Chili
- Mr. Carl Steen Andersen de Bille, Minister Resident and Consul-General, on behalf of Denmark
- Mr. Hinckeldeyn, Attaché of the German Legation, on behalf of Germany
- Mr. William Coppinger, Consul-General, on behalf of Liberia
- Mr. G. de Weckherlin, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, on behalf of Netherlands
- Rustem Effendi, Secretary of Legation, on behalf of Turkey
External links
- Proceedings of the 1884 International Meridian Conference - notes with links to scanned page images at Steve Allen's site
- Proceedings of the 1884 International Meridian Conference - Text of the proceedings, from Project Gutenberg