BC / ADBCE / CE

c. 1701 CE

Halley maps magnetic variation

Oceans, navigation & cartography · Nautical cartography · Instruments & positioning

Edmond Halley assembled ocean observations and drew lines joining places with equal compass variation. The chart turned a changing magnetic phenomenon into navigable information and was an early use of isolines, although it depended on incomplete measurements and required updating.

Precision, calendar, and review
Start
year · approximate
Calendar and convention
Historical-era years; the source calendar is not identified. No conversion of days is assumed.
Year zero
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Documentary review
Date not recorded

Reading the date: point event.

Sources

  1. www.rmg.co.uk (opens in a new tab)
    Source provenance and scope
    Publication date
    Not identified in metadata; document review pending
    Bibliographic date checked
    2026-09-23

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