royal society Archive

Stephen Maturin, the Sea-Going Scientist

The Aubrey/Maturin series is not about science. If it’s about anything, it’s about the close friendship between two very different men as they journey around the world. Or it’s about killing the French, either way. The scientific aspect of the series is often overlooked but, as scientist Stephen Curry would like to remind us, “in [...]
Read More
The Life and Works of Captain Frederick Marryat

Captain Frederick Marryat (1792-1848) was a Royal Navy officer during the Napoleonic War who later went on to write novels drawing on his experiences at sea. His stories are full of action and adventure, as might be expected from a man who served under Captain Lord Cochrane himself. Marryat is considered one of the early [...]
Read More
Longitude Pt. 2: The English Attack

While the Académie Royale des Sciences had finally solved the problem of longitude by land, there was still no way to find longitude by sea, which was vital for trading ships and naval dominance. The method utilizing Jupiter’s moons was of no use for this because the movement of the ship made observations of the [...]
Read More