Who commissioned the Royal Observatory?
Royal Observatory, Greenwich House and Cutty Sark are collectively designated Royal Museums Greenwich. The observatory was commissioned in 1675 by King Charles II, with the foundation stone being laid on 10 August. The site was chosen by Sir Christopher Wren. At that time the king also created the position of Astronomer Royal, to serve as the director of the observatory and to "apply himself with the most exact care and diligence to the rectifying of the tables of the motions of the heavens, and the places of the fixed stars, so as to find out the so much desired longitude of places for
Director of the Royal Greenwich Observatory post distinct from Astronomer Royal were: Director of the Royal Greenwich Observatory The Director of the Royal Greenwich Observatory was the senior scientist responsible for the administration of the Royal Greenwich Observatory from 1972 until the institution's closure in 1998. Executive responsibility for the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, London, had rested with the Astronomer Royal from the institution's foundation in 1675. This practice continued when the observatory moved to Herstmonceux Castle in 1948 and was renamed the Royal Greenwich Observatory. However, the title Astronomer Royal was separated from directorship of the observatory after the retirement of Richard Woolley in 1971. Following