Commercial Time Service
Starting with his tenure at Allegheny Observatory in the Pittsburgh area in the late 1860s, Langley was a major player in the development of astronomically derived and regulated time distribution services in America through the later half of the 19th century. His work with the railroads in this area is often cited as central to the establishment of the Standard Time Zones system. His very successful and profitable time sales to the Pennsylvania Railroad stood out among the many non-government based observatories of the day who were largely subsidizing their researches by time-service sales to regional railroads and the cities they served. The United States Naval Observatory's increasing dominance in this field threatened these regional observatories' livelihoods and Langley became a leader in efforts to preserve the viability of their commercial programs.
Read more about this topic: Samuel Pierpont Langley
Famous quotes containing the words commercial, time and/or service:
“The home is a womans natural background.... From the beginning I tried to have the policy of the store reflect as nearly as it was possible in the commercial world, those standards of comfort and grace which are apparent in a lovely home.”
—Hortense Odlum (1892?)
“After eight days had passed, it was time to circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.”
—Bible: New Testament, Luke 2:21.
“In the service of Caesar, everything is legitimate.”
—Pierre Corneille (16061684)