They're in charge of British Summer Time. Beachcomber couldn't have arranged it better. Time has always been controversial . Back in 1752, there were brisk riots in London when Britain belatedly converted from the Julian calendar to the more accurate Gregorian version . The day after September 2 became September 14, causing some simple souls to believe their lives had been shortened by 11 days.
Time is also big business.
John Harrison , an 18th century clockmaker, knew that when he claimed the Longitude Prize for his splendid portable chronometers . A quarter of a millennium later, author Dava Sobel made a much bigger fortune with her book about Harrison. Defining global time zones is an incredibly exacting science. It's done by HM Nautical Almanac Office , which has a long and fascinating history , in conjunction with the US Naval Observatory .