Drawing the line : how Mason and Dixon surveyed the most famous border in America / Edwin Danson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Danson, Edwin, 1948- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Mason, Charles, 1728-1786.

Mason, Charles.

Dixon, Jeremiah.

Surveying.

History.

Frontier and pioneer life.

Boundaries.

Mason-Dixon Line--History.

Mason-Dixon Line.

Pennsylvania--Boundaries--Maryland--History.

Pennsylvania.

Maryland--Boundaries--Pennsylvania--History.

Maryland.

Frontier and pioneer life--Pennsylvania.

Frontier and pioneer life--Maryland.

Surveying--Pennsylvania--History--18th century.

Surveying--Maryland--History--18th century.

United States--Mason-Dixon Line.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

xiv, 266 pages ; 24 cm

Edition:

Revised edition.

Other Title:

How Mason and Dixon surveyed the most famous border in America

Place of Publication:

Chichester, West Sussex ; Malden, MA : John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2017.

Summary:

Now more accessible than ever, the revised edition of Drawing, the Line: How Mason and Dixon Surveyed the Most Famous Border in America features a wealth of revisions based on recently discovered documents and new archival research about one of the most famous pairs of surveyors in history - Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon - who performed one of the greatest scientific achievements of their time. This edition of Drawing the Line includes new information on the starting point of Mason and Dixon's famous line; the actual location of their observatory in Embreeville, Pennsylvania; and the surveyors' sea voyages to the Americas and South Africa - journeys which had an enormous impact on their future work. Author Edwin Danson also puts forward a new, original theory on why colonial America's mile length was longer than the mile measurement of other geographical regions - a measurement difference that has baffled scientists. In addition to updated research, the revised edition features new illustrations of the complex surveying and astronomical methods used by Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, in a special appendix that explores their surveying methods in detail. Comprehensive, detailed, and full of adventure, Drawing the Line explores the full partnership of two English surveyors who battled against seemingly insurmountable odds to create a border line that endures to the present day, and has become a lasting cultural symbol of the United States. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 In the Reign of George the Third 1

2 The Fortieth Degree 6

3 Kings and Queens 14

4 Entirely at a Stand 20

5 Curious Knowing People 34

6 The Transit of Venus 51

7 Mr. Bird's Contrivances 65

8 Persons Intirely Accomplished 71

9 The Southernmost Point, of the City 80

10 15 Statute Miles, Horizontal 98

11 The Tail of Ursae Minoris 109

12 Fine Sport for the Boys 116

13 From the Post mark'd West 123

14 The Pencil of Time 131

15 King of the Tuscarawa 140

16 From Hence; to the Summit 150

17 At a Council of the Royal Society 160

18 Vibration of the Pendulum 167

19 Not One Step Further 176

20 A Degree of Latitude 189

21 The Last Transit 196

22 A Very Helpless Condition 202

23 Finishing the Job 216.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Danson, Edwin, 1948- author. Drawing the line.

ISBN:

9781119141877

1119141877

9781119141808

111914180X

OCLC:

951642410