Star witness

From the moment it was founded 350 years ago, the Royal Observatory in Greenwich drove our understanding of astronomy, navigation and time.

- Louise Devoy

From the moment it was founded 350 years ago, the Royal Observatory in Greenwich drove our understanding of astronomy, navigation and time. Louise Devoy explores eight milestones in the history of this pioneering scientific institution

The big bang moment

1675 CHARLES II SPARKS A STAR-GAZING REVOLUTION

In the 17th century, the great maritime nations were vying to solve a puzzle that had confounded philosophers for many centuries: how to determine exact positions on the Earth's surface. And in Britain, Charles II took a major step to ensure his realm's position at the head of the pack.

On 4 March 1675, the king signed a royal warrant appointing John Flamsteed as the first "astronomical observator", tasked with "perfecting the art of navigation".

Flamsteed's specific objective was to devise a method by which sailors could establish their longitude (east-west position) at sea - which involved measuring the positions of celestial bodies - and of knowing the time at a ship's local position. And Flamsteed would get to carry out this vital research from the surroundings of the country's first state-funded, purpose-built scientific institution: the Royal Observatory.

It was urgent work, because England's great rival, France, had stolen a march: Louis XIV had established an observatory in Paris nearly a decade earlier. Flamsteed was, in effect, playing catch-up.

The size of the task facing the astronomer clearly wasn't lost on Charles II, for the king appointed none other than the celebrated architect Christopher Wren to design the observatory. Wren's chosen site was the hilltop ruins of Greenwich Castle and it was here that the foundation stone was laid on 10 August 1675.