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Hero or villain? Nevil Maskelyne's posthumous reputation
Public history of science lecture by Dr Rebekah Higgitt
Nevil Maskelyne, 5th Astronomer Royal and Fellow of the Royal Society, is today best known as the villain of Dava Sobel’s Longitude. This talk will, however, look further back and examine how Maskelyne has fared since his death in 1811, attempting to pinpoint when and why a more negative assessment overshadowed the positive celebration of a significant figure of British science.