On this day in 1884, the world agreed on a single Prime Meridian. But getting there wasn't easy!

A Time for Unity

Before 1884, chaos reigned! Every country used its own "prime meridian," making international timekeeping and navigation a nightmare. Imagine trying to schedule a train journey across borders with dozens of different local times! Something had to be done.

The Meridian Conference Convenes

In October 1884, delegates from 25 nations gathered in Washington D.C. for the International Meridian Conference. Their mission: to establish a single Prime Meridian for the entire globe. Could they reach an agreement?

Greenwich Takes the Lead

After weeks of heated debate, the Greenwich Meridian, passing through the Royal Observatory in London, emerged as the front-runner. It already had widespread use in navigation and enjoyed the backing of powerful nations like the United States and Great Britain.

France Holds Out

Not everyone was on board. France, with its own Paris Meridian, fiercely resisted the change. Despite their protests, the Greenwich Meridian was officially adopted on 22 October 1884. The French argued for a neutral line, mentioning the Azores and the Bering Strait, but eventually abstained and continued to use the Paris meridian until 1911. Even then, they referred to GMT as 'Paris mean time, retarded by 9 minutes and 21 seconds'. Only in 1978 did they replace this phrase with Coordinated Universal Time (temps universel coordonné).

A New Era of Global Time

The decision brought order to global timekeeping, simplifying navigation and trade. Though France continued to use the Paris Meridian for several decades, eventually, the world synchronized under Greenwich Mean Time.

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