Towards a Global History of the 1860 Total Solar Eclipse

Abstract The path of eclipse totality across North America, Spain, and Northern Africa on 18 July 1860 was accessible to a wide range of observers in diverse geographical and socio-political contexts, the infrastructures of which shaped individual expedition logistics. This joint paper combines in a single frame of reference accounts from British, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Algerian, and North American expedition parties. A focus on the scientific objectives of these observers with varied circumstances, institutions, and funding sources raises the question of a global approach to the history of observing the total solar eclipse in 1860.