Dixon, Jeremiah

Dixon, Jeremiah

▪ English surveyor
died 1777, Durham, Durham, Eng.

      British surveyor who, working with fellow surveyor Charles Mason, established the boundary between Maryland and Pennsylvania, known since as the Mason and Dixon Line.

      Almost nothing is known of Dixon's life prior to his association with Mason. In 1760 the two were selected by the Royal Astronomical Society to travel to Sumatra in order to observe the transit of Venus. They got no further than the Cape of Good Hope, however (where they did make some observations), before returning to England.

      In 1763 Mason and Dixon were commissioned by the heirs of William Penn and Lord Baltimore to settle an old dispute over the boundary between Pennsylvania and Maryland. Arriving in Philadelphia in November, they began work the following month at the northeastern corner of Maryland. Proceeding along the parallel of latitude 39°43′17.6″ N, they set milestones bearing a P on one side and M on the other along 244 miles of the boundary; every fifth milestone bore the Penn arms and Calvert arms on appropriate sides. Hostile Indians prevented Mason and Dixon from marking the final 36 miles, and in 1767 they returned to Philadelphia. Their work cost $75,000, but it was ratified by the crown in 1769 and has been accepted ever since.

      The Mason and Dixon Line has always been popularly regarded as the boundary between the North and the South, though it was limited to the two states of Pennsylvania and Maryland.

      Mason and Dixon were discharged as surveyors of the colonial boundary on Dec. 26, 1767, but they did not return to England until Sept. 9, 1768. Mason continued to work for the Royal Society, but nothing more is known of Dixon other than the year and place of his death.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Jeremiah Dixon — (Cockfield, County Durham July 27 1733 ndash; Cockfield, County Durham January 22 1779) was an English surveyor and astronomer who is perhaps best known for his work with Charles Mason, from 1763 to 1767, in determining what was later called the… …   Wikipedia

  • Jeremiah Dixon — (Cockfield, Comté de Durham 27 juillet 1733 – Cockfield, Comté de Durham 22 janvier 1779) est un géomètre et astronome anglais. Il est essentiellement connu pour ses travaux entre 1763 et 1767 avec Charles Mason dans le tracé de ce qui deviendra… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Jeremiah Dixon — (27 de julio de 1733 – 22 de enero de 1779) fue un geógrafo y astrónomo inglés que es conocido sobre todo por su trabajo con Charles Mason, desde 1763 a 1767, para determinar lo que más tarde se llamó Línea Mason Dixon. Dixon nació en Cockfield,… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Jeremiah E. O’Connell — Jeremiah Edward O’Connell (* 8. Juli 1883 in Wakefield, Middlesex County, Massachusetts; † 18. September 1964) war ein US amerikanischer Politiker. Zwischen 1923 und 1927 und nochmals von 1929 bis 1930 vertrat er den dritten Wahlbe …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Jeremiah Dixon — (* 27. Juli 1733 in Cockfield, Bishop Auckland, County Durham; † 22. Januar 1779, ebenda) war ein englischer Geometer, der in den Jahren 1763 und 1769 mit seinem Partner Charles Mason die so genannte Mason Dixon Linie vermaß. Nach einer Anekdote… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Dixon H. Lewis — Dixon Hall Lewis Dixon Hall Lewis (* 10. August 1802 im Dinwiddie County, Virginia; † 25. Oktober 1848 in New York City) war ein US amerikanischer Politiker (Demokratische Partei), der den …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Dixon Lewis — Dixon Hall Lewis Dixon Hall Lewis (* 10. August 1802 im Dinwiddie County, Virginia; † 25. Oktober 1848 in New York City) war ein US amerikanischer Politiker (Demokratische Partei), der den …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Jeremiah B. Howell — Jeremiah Brown Howell Jeremiah Brown Howell (* 28. August 1771 in Providence, Rhode Island; † 5. Februar 1822 ebd.) war ein US amerikanischer Politiker, der den Bundesstaat Rhode Island im US Senat vertrat. Der noch zur Kolonialzeit in… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Dixon (surname) — Dixon is a surname, and may refer to Aaron Dixon, American activist Adrian Dixon, Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge Alan J. Dixon, American senator Alesha Dixon, British singer Alice Dixon, English photographer Alfred Dixon, mathematician Arthur… …   Wikipedia

  • Dixon (Familienname) — Dixon ist ein Familienname. Bekannte Namensträger Inhaltsverzeichnis A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”