"Board of Longitude"
by cm

The Longitude Act
Public DomainThe Longitude Act
The Astronomer Royal is a member of the Royal Household; the position was first created to address the Longitude challenge.   The Royal Society was also established under the reign of Charles II, 15 years before, and is the oldest existing scientific society in the world.  Interestingly, both these positions are currently held by the same man, Professor Martin Rees.


The First Lord of the Admiralty, a civilian (usually a courtier) rather than a practising naval officer, headed a board of Lords Commissioners who together occupied the office of Lord High Admiral; the position, twice held by Winston Churchill, was abolished in 1964 (the office of Lord High Admiral is now held by the monarch).   The First Commissioner was the professional head of the Navy, more recently known as the First Sea Lord.


The Speaker of the House of Commons, the “First Commoner of the Land”, is the impartial presiding officer, responsible for selecting who will speak and maintaining order during debates.


The Lucasian Chair of Mathematics at Cambridge was also established under Charles II, and has been held by Isaac Newton and Stephen Hawking.   The Savilian Chair at Oxford and the Plumian Chair at Cambridge are in fact for Astronomy.