19th Century
In the late 19th century the Zentralbüro für die Internationale Erdmessung (that is, Central Bureau for International Geodesy) was established by Austria-Hungary and Germany. One of its most important goals was the derivation of an international ellipsoid and a gravity formula which should be optimal not only for Europe but also for the whole world. The Zentralbüro was an early predecessor of the International Association of Geodesy (IAG) and the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG) which was founded in 1919.
Most of the relevant theories were derived by the German geodesist Friedrich Robert Helmert in his famous books Die mathematischen und physikalischen Theorieen der höheren Geodäsie, Einleitung und 1 Teil (1880); English translation: Mathematical and Physical Theories of Higher Geodesy, Vol. 1. Helmert also derived the first global ellipsoid in 1906 with an accuracy of 100 meters (0.002 percent of the Earth's radii). The US geodesist Hayford derived a global ellipsoid in ~1910, based on intercontinental isostasy and an accuracy of 200 m. It was adopted by the IUGG as "international ellipsoid 1924".
Read more about this topic: History Of Geodesy
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