William Roy (1726 - July 1, 1790), was a Scottish surveyor, military draughtsman and antiquary, born in Carluke, South Lanarkshire. Events George Friderich Handel becomes a British subject. ... July 1 is the 182nd day of the year (183rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 183 days remaining. ... 1790 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Motto: Nemo me impune lacessit (English: No one provokes me with impunity) Scotlands location within Europe Scotlands location within the United Kingdom Languages English, Gaelic, Scots Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow First Minister Jack McConnell Area - Total - % water Ranked 2nd UK 78,782 km² 1. ... Surveying is concerned with the application of mathematics and physics in obtaining accurate measurements for the determination of the position of points on the Earths surface. ... An antiquarian is one concerned with antiquities or things of the past. ... Carluke is a large commuting town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, eight miles south east of Motherwell, with around 15,000 inhabitants. ... South Lanarkshire (Siorrachd Lannraig a Deas in Gaelic) is one of 32 unitary council regions in Scotland, covering the southern part of the traditional county of Lanarkshire. ...

In 1746, when an assistant in the office of Colonel Watson, deputy quartermastergeneral in North Britain, he began the survey of the mainland of Scotland, the results of which were embodied in what is known as the duke of Cumberland's map. In 1755 he obtained his commission in the 4th Kings Own Foot, and in 1759 gained his lieutenancy and went to serve in Germany in the Seven Years' War. In 1765 he appears as deputy quartermaster-general to the forces, surveyor-general of coasts and engineer-director of military surveys in Great Britain; in 1767 he became F.R.S., in 1781 major-general, in 1783 director of Royal Engineers. North Briton was a term used for a Scottish person who identified themselves as Scottish and Unionist by supporting the continuation of the United Kingdom. ... Motto: Nemo me impune lacessit (English: No one provokes me with impunity) Scotlands location within Europe Scotlands location within the United Kingdom Languages English, Gaelic, Scots Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow First Minister Jack McConnell Area - Total - % water Ranked 2nd UK 78,782 km² 1. ... Duke of Cumberland is a peerage title that was conferred upon junior members of the British royal family. ... For the 1592–1598 war, see Seven-Year War. ... The premises of the Royal Society in London (first four properties only). ...

Besides his campaigns and observations in Germany, his visits to Ireland (1766) and to Gibraltar (1768) were important. In 1783-84 he conducted observations for determining the relative positions of the French and English royal observatories. His measurement of a base-line for that purpose on Hounslow Heath in 1784, the germ of all subsequent surveys of the United Kingdom, gained him in 1785 the Copley medal of the Royal Society. Roy's measurements (not fully utilised until 1787, when the Paris and Greenwich observatories were properly connected) form the basis of the topographical survey of Middlesex, Surrey, Kent and Sussex. He was finishing an account of this work for the Phil. Trans. when he died. Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location (dark green) within the British Isles Languages None official English de facto Capital None official London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001... The London Borough of Hounslow is a peripheral London borough in the south-west of the conurbation; as such part of the Green Belt lies within its boundaries. ... The Copley Medal is a scientific award for work in any field of science, the highest award granted by the Royal Society of London. ... The premises of the Royal Society in London (first four properties only). ... The Eiffel Tower, the international symbol of the city, with the skyscrapers of La Défense business district 3 miles behind. ... Greenwich (pronounced grenn-itch , or by the locals) is a town, now part of the south eastern urban sprawl of London, on the south bank of the River Thames in the London Borough of Greenwich. ... Middlesex is one of the 39 historic counties of England. ... Surrey is a county in southern England, part of the South East England region and one of the Home Counties. ... Kent is a county in England, south-east of London. ... Sussex is a traditional county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. ... Cover of Cover the first volume of , published in 1665 The Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, or Phil. ...

These surveys were made for the most part using the new Ramsden theodolite which Roy had commissioned from Jesse Ramsden, and were the start of what is often called the Principal Triangulation of Great Britain The Ramsden theodolite was used in the first Ordnance Survey of Southern Britain. ... Jesse Ramsden (October 6, 1735 - November 5, 1800) was an English astronomical instrument maker. ... The Principal Triangulation of Britain was a triangulation project carried out between 1783 and about 1853 at the instigation of the Director of the Ordnance Survey General William Roy (1726-1790). ...

Roy's principal book-publication is the Military Antiquities of the Romans in Britain (1793). See also notices of him and contributions from him in the records of the War Office and the Royal Engineers, in the Transactions of the Royal Society of London, vols. lxvii., lxxv., lxxvii., lxxx., lxxxv., and in the Gentlemans Magazine, vols. lv., Ix. He is whimsically denounced by Jonathan Oldbuck of Monkbarns in Scotts Antiquary. Old War Office Building, Whitehall, London - the former location of the War Office The War Office was a former department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1963, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence. ... The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army. ... Jonathan Oldbuck is the antiquary in Scotts novel of the name, devoted to the study and collection of old coins, a man with an irritable temper, due to disappointment in a love affair. ...

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

see also Ordnance Survey, Ramsden theodolite, Principal Triangulation of Great Britain Encyclopædia Britannica, the 11th edition The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is perhaps the most famous edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... Image produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service. ... The Ramsden theodolite was used in the first Ordnance Survey of Southern Britain. ... The Principal Triangulation of Britain was a triangulation project carried out between 1783 and about 1853 at the instigation of the Director of the Ordnance Survey General William Roy (1726-1790). ...

External Links

• Royal Engineers Museum Royal Engineers biographies (William Roy)