ABSTRACT
Founded to produce aids for navigators in an age of maritime expansion, the Royal Observatory, built in 1676, in its early decades was the only institution in England undertaking a systematic observational program for the improvement of positional astronomy. Its location within the institutional framework of the Ordnance Office created an unprecedented opportunity for continuity in technical and methodological development; the precise course taken depended on the individual aims and characters of its successive directors. The title of Astronomer Royal came to be formally attached to their post in the course of the eighteenth century; the initial use of a variety of descriptions reflects contemporary uncertainty about the nature and scope of their official duties. John Flamsteed (1646-1719), the first of them, retained the post until his death; he was succeeded by a younger rival, Edmond Halley (ca. 1656-1742). Despite continuing controversy, activities at Greenwich provided an influential model for later observatories across Europe, especially with the eventual dominance of meridian-transit techniques.
