Nevil Maskelyne [SEP] position held
Nevil Maskelyne
The Rev Dr Nevil Maskelyne DD FRS FRSE (6 October 1732 – 9 February 1811) was the fifth British Astronomer Royal. He held the office from 1765 to 1811. He was the first person to scientifically measure the mass of the planet Earth.
Biography.
Maskelyne was born in London, the third son of Edmund Maskelyne of Purton in Wiltshire, and his wife, Elizabeth Booth. Maskelyne's father died when he was 12, leaving the family in reduced circumstances. Maskelyne attended Westminster School and
of the trick, which peaked in the 1930s. It is this fame, chapter 8 of his book claimed, which originated from Wilkie's hoax.
Explanation Magic techniques.
The magician John Nevil Maskelyne in 1912 reported a possible explanation for the trick from a witness to whom he had spoken. It was suggested that the position of the Sun was crucial to the trick:
The jugglers brought a coil of what appeared to be a large rope. As they uncoiled it and held it up it became stiff ; it