NavList:

Hello Frank,

Thank you very much for your answer.

You describe very well the "war of mathematicians" of XVIIIe and XIXe, but you have another aspect, more politic, the chauvinism !

In France, for example, we used only french methods : Borda for clearing lunar distance and ex-meridian, Pézénas for double altitude problem, etc. I recognize that the method of Thomson is totally unknow !

And I am not sure that few method "made in France" are used in UK or USA : for example, do you know the methods of Lalande and Borda for double altitude problème, the "Pagel coefficient" (for correct a longitude a-posteriori) or the works of Ducom (book "Cours d'observations nautiques" 1858 : you can find it on "google books") ?

Have a nice evening.

Jacques
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