OpenCage 👉🌍

4/ London would became a great port - but there was a problem: navigation remained challenging - specifically determining longitude.

In 1675 the Royal Observatory was established in Greenwich, East London "so as to find out the so much desired longitude of places for the perfecting of the art of navigation".

The Longitude Act of 1714 created a huge financial reward for anyone who could solve it https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longitude_Act

We can highly recommend Sobel's "Longtitude" to learn more.

Map showing location of the Greenwich Observatory

Map showing location of Greenwich in London

Like 20 April at 11:55 | Open on en.osm.town

11 comments

OpenCage 👉🌍

5/ In 1854 an outbreak of cholera hit Soho in central London, killing hundreds.

Dr. John Snow, a believer in the theory that unseeable, waterborne "germs" caused the disease, plotted the cases on map to find the infected water pump that was responsible for the outbreak.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1854_Broad_Street_cholera_outbreak

Today Snow is heralded as a father of the field of epidemiology. A pub named after him is located at the site.

20 April at 11:57 | Open on en.osm.town

OpenCage 👉🌍

6/ In 1857 London was the site of a new innovation - postal codes.

The city was subdivided into 10 districts (EC (East Central), WC (West Central), N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, and NW)

Most of these codes are still used today, and the system was later expanded across the country.

Here's a street sign showing the postcode area in the no longer existent
"Borough of Finsbury"

20 April at 12:00 | Open on en.osm.town

OpenCage 👉🌍

7/ In 1884 an international convention met in Washington DC 🇺🇸, and the Greenwich meridian, passing through the Greenwich Observatory, was agreed to be the 0 line of longitude, the so-called "Prime Meridian"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_meridian

The line was also used as the basis for timezone definition, hence the term "Greenwich Mean Time"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwich_Mean_Time

Commemorative stamp celebrating the 100th anniversary of the definition of the Prime Meridian

View from Greenwich park, through which the Prime Meridian passes

Map of the world showing the prime meridian and equator

Timezone map showing UTC timezone (the successor to Greenwich Mean Time)

20 April at 12:03 | Open on en.osm.town

OpenCage 👉🌍

8/ Not much later Charles Booth meticulously surveyed the demographics of London to create his famous "Life and Labour of the People in London", the first example of a "poverty map" showing the spatial distribution of poverty and inequality in the city.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_and_Labour_of_the_People_in_London

Whitechapel section of Charles Booth's poverty map

20 April at 12:04 | Open on en.osm.town

OpenCage 👉🌍

8/ In 1931 cartography changed forever when technical draughtsman Harry Beck represented the London Underground network as a schematic diagram rather than a geographically correct map.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Beck

Beck's iconic style has been copied by transport networks - and others - world wide, with many, many variants.

Over the years we have had many talks at Geomob London about the Tube network, material enough for a thread of its own in the future.

modern variant of the tube map in radial form

20 April at 12:05 | Open on en.osm.town

OpenCage 👉🌍

9/ London has evolved, and with it the maddening complexity of its
admin divisions.

"Greater London" is 32 local authority districts.

Confusingly this includes the City of Westminster, but not the City of London (why many admin maps of London have a hole at the center). Some are "Royal" boroughs, some are not.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_boroughs

The boroughs typically have only minimal correspondence to things like postcode areas, police districts, etc.

#geoweirdness

9/ London has evolved, and with it the maddening complexity of its
admin divisions.

"Greater London" is 32 local authority districts.

Confusingly this includes the City of Westminster, but not the City of London (why many admin maps of London have a hole at the center). Some are "Royal" boroughs, some are not.

Expand text...

List of London Boroughs (and City of London)

Hole in the center of London due to the City of London

20 April at 12:13 | Open on en.osm.town

OpenCage 👉🌍 replied to OpenCage

10/ The City of London - traditionally marked by dragon boundary posts - is run by a corporation, though there is no surviving record of a charter first establishing the Corporation as a legal body.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_London_Corporation

Of course the Corporation does not have general authority over the Middle Temple and the Inner Temple, two of the four "Inns of Court"

It is odd historical exceptions ALL the way down.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_boundary_mark

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inner_Temple

#geoweirdness

10/ The City of London - traditionally marked by dragon boundary posts - is run by a corporation, though there is no surviving record of a charter first establishing the Corporation as a legal body.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_London_Corporation

Of course the Corporation does not have general authority over the Middle Temple and the Inner Temple, two of the four "Inns of Court"

Expand text...

Dragon boundary post of the City of London

20 April at 12:15 | Open on en.osm.town

OpenCage 👉🌍 replied to OpenCage

11/ London is sometimes still referred to as "The Big Smoke", a reference to the terrible pollution of the past, but these days the city is quite green
Indeed, it is classified as a forest.

50% of London is covered in green space, and an incredible 8 million trees are dotted across the capital.

In 2019, it was officially declared a National Park City.
https://nationalparkcity.london

#geoweirdness

20 April at 12:16 | Open on en.osm.town

OpenCage 👉🌍 replied to OpenCage

12/ In August 2004, Steve Coast, then a student at University College London (UCL - site of last week's Geomob London) started ... OpenStreetMap!

The project has come a looooong way since then (see screenshot), and is the basis for OpenCage and many, many other geospatial services around the world.

Last summer for OSM's 19th birthday @freyfogle spoke with @gravitystorm@co.uk on the Geomob podcast about the early days of OSM: https://thegeomob.com/podcast/episode-193

Well worth a follow: @OSMLondon

#OpenStreetMap

12/ In August 2004, Steve Coast, then a student at University College London (UCL - site of last week's Geomob London) started ... OpenStreetMap!

The project has come a looooong way since then (see screenshot), and is the basis for OpenCage and many, many other geospatial services around the world.

Last summer for OSM's 19th birthday @freyfogle spoke with @gravitystorm@co.uk on the Geomob podcast about the early days of OSM: https://thegeomob.com/podcast/episode-193

Expand text...

Early screenshot of OpenStreetMap showing Regent's Park in London

Early post (11 Dec 2004) on the OpenStreetMap blog by Steven Coast announcing the entry of the first street

https://blog.openstreetmap.org/2004/12/11/a-lot-happened/

20 April at 12:22 | Open on en.osm.town

OpenCage 👉🌍 replied to OpenCage

13/ ok, this thread of London geographical curiosities could go on for a long while, we will wrap it there for this week.

We have links to many more geothreads about border disputes, exclaves, #geoweirdness of individual territories, reverse geocoding, etc listed on our blog: https://blog.opencagedata.com/geothreads

If you like 🇬🇧 British geographic oddities you may enjoy our threads about

Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 https://en.osm.town/@opencage/112132917150430966

British Overseas Territories 🇬🇧 https://en.osm.town/@opencage/110288036094504869

13/ ok, this thread of London geographical curiosities could go on for a long while, we will wrap it there for this week.

We have links to many more geothreads about border disputes, exclaves, #geoweirdness of individual territories, reverse geocoding, etc listed on our blog: https://blog.opencagedata.com/geothreads

Expand text...

Screenshot of OpenCage blog page listing all of our geothreads

20 April at 12:27 | Open on en.osm.town

OpenCage 👉🌍 replied to OpenCage

16/ Ahh wait if you want to learn more about Geomob London (or other cities) please follow @geomob

The next London event will be on July 3rd as part of London Data Week.
https://thegeomob.com/post/july-3rd-2024-geomoblon-details

Here's the summary thread of this week's event:
https://mapstodon.space/@geomob/112291460580342797

#geomobLON

20 April at 12:31 | Open on en.osm.town