Higgitt, Rebekah F. (2014) A British national Observatory: The Building of the New Physical Observatory at Greenwich, 1890-99. British Journal for the History of Science, 47 (4). pp. 609-635. ISSN 0007-0874. E-ISSN 1474-001X. (doi:10.1017/S0007087413000678) (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:40727)
The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided. | |
Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0007087413000678 |
Abstract
Over its long history, the buildings of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich were enlarged and altered many times, reflecting changing needs and expectations of astronomers and funders, but also the constraints of a limited site and small budgets. The most significant expansion took place in the late nineteenth century, overseen by the eighth Astronomer Royal, William Christie, a programme that is put in the context of changing attitudes toward scientific funding, Christie's ambitious plans for the work and staffing of the Observatory and his desire to develop a national institution that could stand with more recently founded European and American rivals. Examination of the archives reveals the range of strategies Christie was required to use to acquire consent and financial backing from the Admiralty, as well as his opportunistic approach. While hindsight might lead to criticism of his decisions, Christie eventually succeeded in completing a large building – the New Physical Observatory – that, in its decoration, celebrated Greenwich's past while, in its name, style, structure and contents, it was intended to signal the institution's modernization and future promise.
Item Type: | Article |
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DOI/Identification number: | 10.1017/S0007087413000678 |
Additional information: | questionable eprint id: 32124; |
Subjects: | C Auxiliary Sciences of History > C Auxiliary sciences of history (General) |
Divisions: | Divisions > Division of Arts and Humanities > School of History |
Depositing User: | Stewart Brownrigg |
Date Deposited: | 07 Mar 2014 00:05 UTC |
Last Modified: | 17 Aug 2022 10:57 UTC |
Resource URI: | https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/40727 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes) |
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