Welcome to Erin Mankie's Cabinet of Curiosity's, a production of I Heart Radio and Grimm

and Mild.

Our world is full of the unexplainable.

And if history is an open book, all of these amazing tales are right there on display,

just waiting for us to explore.

Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosity's.

George was born in England on July 4th of 1790, 14 years after America had first declared

independence from Great Britain.

George had five other siblings, two younger and three older, and his father was an

upstanding member of the community, serving as the local justice of the peace.

George started his professional life as a cadet with the East India Company in 1806,

and after graduating from the Royal Military College in Marlow, he was sent to India itself,

but were not exactly sure why.

We do know that he was made a second lieutenant with the Bengal Army and that he was quite

gifted in astronomy and mathematics.

But around 1814, George's work begins to come into focus more.

That year, while on secundiment in Java, off the coast of Indonesia, he was given the job

of surveying the entire island.

This led to more survey work in India as he mapped a 400 mile line between Calcutta and

Benaris.

Eventually, George's dedication and work ethic was noticed by a man named William Lampton,

who had been heading up a project called the Great Trigonometrical Survey, or the GTS.

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