On October 13, 1884, Greenwich, England was established as the universal time meridian of longitude and the standard of time zones around the world. This decision was made at the International Meridian Conference in Washington, D.C., which was attended by representatives from 25 nations.
Before this conference, each country had its own prime meridian, which made it difficult to coordinate time zones and navigate across the globe. The establishment of the Greenwich Meridian as the international standard helped to simplify global navigation and timekeeping.
The choice of Greenwich as the prime meridian was not arbitrary. The Royal Observatory in Greenwich had already been using this meridian as a reference point for decades, and many nautical charts and maps were based on it. Additionally, at the time of the conference, around 72% of the world's commerce depended on sea charts that used Greenwich as the prime meridian.
However, the decision was not without controversy. France abstained from the vote and continued to use its own prime meridian, which passed through Paris, until 1911. Other countries, such as Brazil and Russia, also continued to use their own prime meridians for several decades after the conference.
Despite these initial challenges, the adoption of the Greenwich Meridian as the international standard had a significant impact on the development of global timekeeping, navigation, and communication systems. Today, the Greenwich Meridian continues to serve as the reference point for the world's time zones and is marked by a brass strip at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, which attracts visitors from around the world.
This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
