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Papers of the Board of Visitors
| Title |
Papers of the Board of Visitors |
| Reference |
GBR/0180/RGO 55 |
| Creator |
Royal Observatory Board of Visitors |
| Covering Dates |
circa 1830-circa 1964 |
| Extent and Medium |
1 box; paper |
| Repository |
Royal Greenwich Observatory Archives |
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| Content and context |
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The Board of Visitors was created by the Royal Warrant of 12 December 1710 to oversee the operations of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. It carried out examinations of the Observatory's instruments, made decisions about the purchase of equipment, and received regular accounts of observational work from the Astronomer Royal. The members met annually at the Observatory to hold a visitation and to attend the annual meeting. The Board was comprised initially of the President and Fellows of the Royal Society. However, the membership was reconstituted by the Royal Warrant of 9 September 1830 to include the Presidents and Fellows of the Royal Society and Royal Astronomical Society, as well as the Savilian Professor of Astronomy at Oxford and the Plumian Professor of Astronomy at Cambridge. The Board's powers were reduced after George Airy's appointment as Astronomer Royal in 1835.
The largest part of the collection is a series of minutes of Board meetings. The remaining material is comprised of reports by or to the Board, Royal Warrants, resolutions and correspondence on the Annual Meeting.
The papers were created or accumulated by the Board of Visitors and transferred subsequently to the R.G.O. Archives.
The papers underwent basic ordering and numbering prior to the compilation of this catalogue. The material has subsequently been reordered, but the original classmarks are listed under Former Reference.
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Access and Use
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Please cite as Royal Greenwich Observatory Archives, Papers of the Board of Visitors, RGO 55 |
| Further information |
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Indexed
This description was created by Robert Steiner, Department of Manuscripts and University Archives.
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| Index Terms |
| Royal Observatory Board of Visitors |
| RGO Archives/RGO 55 contains: |
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1
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Minutes.
12 folders + 4 envelopes. |
1831–1964 |
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2
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Letters and papers read to the Board.
2 volumes. |
1831–1869 |
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3
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Addresses to the Board of Visitors. Addresses to the Individual Members of the Board of Visitors, 1843-1887 and 1913, mostly by the Astronomer Royal.
1 folder. |
1843–1913 |
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4
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Annual Reports of the Astronomer Royal.
17 volumes + 1 folder. |
1898–1964 |
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5
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Royal Warrants.
2 folders. |
circa 1830–1964 |
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6
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Report on printing observations. 'Report of the Visiters [sic] of the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, as to the form of printing the Observations 1831 April 21' - a printed copy and an incomplete manuscript copy.
1 folder. |
1831 |
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7
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Table of resolutions. 'Copies of Resolutions passed since 1886 by the Board of Visitors relating to the increase in the duties performed at the Royal Observatory and to the difficulties experienced in consequence of the scattered character of the Observatory Buildings' - a table listing date, resolution, steps taken and remarks, covering 1886-1892. There is also a letter from G.W. Underhill, Hydrographic Department, to W.H.M. Christie, 8 June 1887, regarding Resolution No. 9.
1 folder. |
1887-circa 1892 |
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8
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Letters on the 1964 Annual Meeting. Two letters from G.W. Fisher, Secretary, Hydrographic Department, Ministry of Defence, regard the Annual Meeting of the Board of Visitors at the Royal Greenwich Observatory on 6 June 1964: a circular letter, April 1964, containing details of the Annual Meeting, with a questionnaire regarding attendance and Fisher's compliments slip; and an annotated letter to Alan Hunter, Royal Greenwich Observatory, 14 May 1964, regarding attendance at the Annual Meeting.
1 folder. |
Apr. 1964–14 May 1964 |
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