And so to the final plaque in this sequence, and the 270th overall, which returns us (circular route, remember?) to Blackheath. Fittingly for a day in which the meridian was crossed several times, this last plaque commemorates Sir Frank Watson Dyson, an astronomer and Astronomer Royal who is remembered today largely for introducing time signals (the pips) from Greenwich, and for the role he played in proving Einsteins theory of general relativity. He was appointed Astronomer Royal for Scotland from 1905 to 1910, and Astronomer Royal (and director of the Royal Greenwich Observatory) from 1910 to 1933. In 1928, he introduced in the Observatory a new free-pendulum clock, the most accurate clock available at that time and organised the regular wireless transmission from the GPO wireless station at Rugby of Greenwich Mean Time. He also, in 1924, introduced the distribution of the six pips via the BBC. He was for several years President of the British Horological Institute and was awarded their Gold Medal in 1928. Dyson was noted for his study of solar eclipses and was an authority on the spectrum of the corona and on the chromosphere. He is credited with organising expeditions (with Arthur Eddington, recipient of the sixth plaque in this sequence, do try to keep up!) to observe the 1919 solar eclipse at Brazil and Principe, observations from which confirmed Einsteins theory of the effect of gravity on light. Frank Dyson and celebrated theoretical physicist Freeman Dyson (for a right rollicking read, you are directed to the book Project Orion) are not related. However, the latter does credit Sir Frank with sparking his interest in astronomy; because they shared the same last name. Neither Frank nor Freeman share any relationship to James Dyson, the brains behind the eponymous vacuum cleaner. Dysons blue plaque was erected by English Heritage in 1990 at 6 Vanbrugh Hill, Blackheath SE3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Watson_Dyson
Posted on: Tue, 23 Dec 2014 22:42:29 +0000
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