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(Charles and Jeremiah) Mason and Dixon

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Astronomer

The Resume

    Charles Mason (April, 1728-October 25, 1786), born in Oakridge Lynch, England
    Jeremiah Dixon (July 27, 1733-January 22, 1779), born in Cockfield, England
    Astronomers and surveyors
    As part of an international effort to gather data to determine the distance from the Earth to the Sun, observed the transit of Venus from the Cape of Good Hope (1761) and Norway (1769)
    Established the boundary lines between the colonies of Pennsylvania (including Delaware) and Maryland (1763-68)

Why they might be annoying:

    They were supposed to continue with the border between Pennsylvania and (West) Virginia to the Ohio River, but were unable to complete this part of the job due to conflicts with Native Americans.
    Mason or his descendants lost his original journal from the surveying expedition, which turned up a century later in a trash heap in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
    The border was not called the Mason-Dixon line until 1820.
    The South ended up being called Dixie, but the North did not become Masie.

Why they might not be annoying:

    They settled a boundary dispute that had occasionally flared into violence, most notably in 1736, when both colonies called out their militias.
    During their stay in the US, they were admitted to the American Philosophic Society, possibly at the invitation of founder Benjamin Franklin.
    A re-survey of the borders by the US Army Engineers praised the 'surprising accuracy' of their original measurements (1849).
    They inspired Thomas Pynchon's critically-praised novel 'Mason & Dixon.'

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 4 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 9 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 4 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 7 Votes: 14.29% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 17 Votes: 41.18% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 19 Votes: 31.58% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 14 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 161 Votes: 56.52% Annoying