About the session
The Royal Observatory has been exporting Greenwich Mean Time ever since 1833, when a five-foot time ball was installed on its roof. Since then, a wide variety of technologies have brought Greenwich time to the outside world. In this lecture, the speaker explores the curious history of time distribution from Greenwich, revealing little-known stories behind one of Britain's best-known measurement systems: Greenwich Mean Time. Rather fittingly, part of its history can be attributed to Savoy Place. The speaker describes the importance of technology over the years, illustrating the role of the electric telegraph, broadcast radio and the telephone network. He discusses the uses of accurate time and the reason for standardising it to Greenwich.
