Latitude
2 of the 7 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Latitude. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
the angular distance of a star from the ecliptic, measured on a great circle drawn through the star and the pole of the ecliptic. This method of measurement is now not much used, that by right of ascension and declination having largely taken its place. The latitude of a place on the surface of the earth, is its angular distance from the equator, measured on the meridian of the place. Latitude is N. or S., according as the place is N. or S. of the equator. Circles whose planes are parallel to that of the equator are called circles of latitude, or parallels of latitude, because the latitude of every point of each circle is the same. The latitude of a place is always equal to the inclination of the axis of the earth to the horizon of the place , and conversely. A degree of latitude is shed." His sermons inted. uage of the ancient literature, see the as Latin authors. H, the Church of the hed from the Oriental cross the transverse he-third the length of ncient inhabitants of In very early times a league of 30 cities, of Alba Longa, said by Ascanius, the son the head. Rome was of Alba, and thus the mans is known as the THE, a political ed in 1865 by France, d Switzerland. These into an agreement by of silver to be coined for each member of joined the union in 871, and subsequently nia also became memthe South American Latin Union coinage. countries of the union not used by the others. ge in the Latin Union different names elsethe lira; in Serbia, the ne peseta; but the value The perfect decimal is also used, and the coinage has led to its It is the most widely system in Europe, bet 148,000,000 people. e angular distance of ecliptic, measured on a ough the star and This method of not much used, that and declination place. The latithe surface of the distance from the the meridian of the N. or according S. of the equator. allel to that rcles of latibecause the ench circle is place is alation of the axis the horizon of the place, A degree of latitude is 60 nautical or about 69½ English miles. In surveying, the distance between two E. and W. lines drawn through two extremities of a course. If the course is run toward the N., the latitude is called northing, if toward the S., it is called southing.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
angular distance north or south of the earth's equator. The angular distance between the equator and either pole is divided into ninety degrees. The northern boundary of a large part of the United States is the forty-ninth degree of north latitude; that is to say, it is a line on the earth's surface parallel to the equator, 49-90 of the total angular distance from the equator to the pole. St. Paul's, London, is situated in latitude 51.3048 north. Cape Horn is in latitude 55 59' south. It the sailor at sea is able to get the altitude of the sun above the earth's horizon, or of a star, he is able, with the aid of his almanac and watch, to determine the latitude in which his ship is sailing. Latitude is an important factor in climate. Unless other factors intervene, the higher the latitude, that is to say, the nearer the pole, the cooler the climate. Between points situated on the equator, the equator itself is the shortest distance between them. The shortest distance between two points on a parallel of latitude, either north or south of the equator, is not the arc of the parallel, but the arc of the circumference of the great circle that passes through them. The shortest line from a point in the northern boundary of Minnesota and a point in the northern boundary of Washington would be a curved line considerably north of the boundary at its central point. Navigators do not follow parallels. A shipmaster desiring to reach a port due east of Boston follows a course circling considerably to the northward. The literal meaning of the word is breadth. Latitude of thought means breadth of view.