The subject of pay at the Observatory becomes increasingly complex from the nineteenth century onwards. Although there is information in the various archives about the amounts individuals were paid on certain specific dates, information about the overarching pay structures, pay ranges and dates when they were introduced are less well documented – particularly in the twentieth century. When it has been possible to work out the date ranges over which the various pay scales apply, they have been given, when not, spot values are given instead. Restructuring of the pay scales took place in 1871, 1896, 1912, the mid 1930s and 1946. References to relevant archive files are given in brackets: RGO (Royal Greenwich Observatory Archive at Cambridge); ADM, WORK and T (former Admiralty and Treasury files at the Public Record Office Kew), MS (Royal Society).
Although an attempt has been made to produce a reasonably comprehensive and accurate survey, there are bound to be errors, which we would be grateful to hear of. The information is necessarily incomplete and subject to caveats.
Background information
Pay of the Astronomers Royal & Directors, 1675-1998
Pay 1675-1811
Pay 1811-1835
Pay 1836-1871
Pay 1871-1945
Pay 1946-1998
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