What's A Dixie?
Jeremiah Dixon
Why are the Southern American States known as 'Dixie'?
It is thought the name is a tribute to the Durham astronomer and surveyor, Jeremiah Dixon, who along with his partner Charles Mason surveyed the boundary between the states of Pennsylvania and Maryland. This is the famous Mason-Dixon Line.
Dixon was born in 1733 in Bishop Auckland and became interested in astronomy and mathmatics whilst at school. In 1760 he was chosen to assist Mason on his visit to Sumatre to observe the 1761 Transit of Venus. The sailing to Sumatra was delayed but they landed on the Cape of Good Hope in time to witness the Transit on 6th June.
It was in 1763 that Dixon and Mason began work in America to resolve the border dispute between the states of Pennsylvania and Maryland. Thier work on the Mason-Dixon line was completed in 1763 but they stayed in America for the next 5 years to measure a degree of the meridian on the Delmarva pennisula in Maryland and to make gravity measurements on behalf of the Royal Society.
The following year Dixon and Mason split up to observe the 1769 transit of Venus. Dixon viewed the Transit on Hammerfest Island, Norway, on 3rd June. On his arrival back in England, Dixon returned to Durham to work as a surveyor and he lived here until his death in 1779.
Submitted by: Sarah McLeod, 01 September 2004
