NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: Coverage of lunars in Bowditch
From: Herbert Prinz
Date: 2001 Jul 22, 1:12 PM
From: Herbert Prinz
Date: 2001 Jul 22, 1:12 PM
I checked with Bowditch 1966, Article 126, p.45, where it says: "An explanation of the lunar distance method, and tables for its use, were carried in the American Practical Navigator until 1914." Appearently, there is room for interpretation as to whether the "until" is inclusive or not. Maybe somebody with access to a 1914 edition (if there is any!) can do a first hand check. It should also be pointed out that the first edition of "The New American Practical Navigator" came out in 1802. (The book of 1799 that the quote below must be referring to was called "The New Practical Navigator" and was Bowditch's corrected version of Moore's "The Practical Navigator". I am mentioning this not to nit-pick, but because of its relevance to the lunar method: I think it was the first edition from 1802 of his _own_ book where Bowditch simplified the L.D. (and other things) to the extent that would lay the basis for the myth that even his cook could reduce an L.D. Herbert Prinz (from 1368950/-4603950/4182550 ECEF) Dan Allen wrote: > In the book entitled "History and Bibliography of The New American > Practical Navigator and The American Coast Pilot" by John F. Campbell > (Peabody Museum, Salem, MA: 1964), it says in part on page 119: > > [...] > > In 1914, Bowditch was again revised and improved. In charge > of this revision was Lieutenant G. W. Logan, USN. A sign of > the changing times is noted in this revision, as the chapter > on lunar observations was finally excluded. It had been a > part of the work since it was first printed in 1799. >