This laser projected from the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, in London, England, marks the prime meridian, dividing Earth’s Eastern and Western Hemispheres and helping travelers to chart their courses by establishing a universally adopted 0 degrees longitude. The meridian itself is essentially an imaginary line, arbitrarily placed. By the early 19th century, most maritime countries had established their own prime meridians to aid in navigation. But on this date in 1884, delegates from 25 nations met at a conference in Washington, DC, where they established Greenwich as the international standard for mapping and timekeeping. The decision made sense, as the Greenwich meridian was already widely used. But there was one holdout: France abstained from the vote and used its own prime meridian for several decades before eventually joining other countries in recognizing the Greenwich meridian.
‘Hello’ from zero degrees longitude
Today in History
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Winter in England s Cotswolds
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The lights of Paris
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Bobbing for crab apples
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Mack Arch Rock
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Ski touring in Austria
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World Teachers Day
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Australian baobab tree, Kimberley region, Western Australia
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Ancient storage in the Grand Canyon
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The Children’s Cultural Festival in Reykjavik begins today
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Sweetheart Abbey, Scotland
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‘The memory of Abraham Lincoln is enshrined forever’
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Nothing plain about it
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Native American Heritage Month
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Traffic jam on the caribou highway
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The buzz about bees
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The mountaintop of toppled gods
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Vote!
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Protecting wildlife today and tomorrow
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Veterans Day
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All in a day s work
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Stop and see the flowers
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Bridge over the River Tara
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Celebrating National Dentist Day
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Land of the midnight sun
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A reflection of Europe s past
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Sea Otter Awareness Week
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Fallow deer, Bradgate Park, Leicestershire, England
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Sea fireflies at the seashore
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Bukhansan National Park, South Korea
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International Mountain Day