How was the location of the prime meridian located?

Answer 1

That was strictly a matter of international agreement. Unlike the equator, which is

defined in terms of the shape of the Earth, the origin of longitude could have been

anywhere that everyone agreed on. England had the largest worldwide empire, and

the longest seafaring tradition and history, and the Royal Observatory in place to

verify and monitor the measurement, and took the initiative to organize the

international conference to set up the uniform, global navigation reference system,

where it was agreed that the meridian through the Royal Observatory in Greenwich

would become the zero reference for longitude.

Answer 2

Greenwich is located on 0 degrees longitude, and according to its maritime history, it was a place where sailors calculated their longitude from. The Prime Meridian is not located in Greenwich; Greenwich is located along the Prime Meridian.

Answer 3

Because when you start to measure latitude you have to have a point/line that is both 0 and 360 degrees (they are the same) and it was agreed internationally that this zero degree line would be the prime meridian that that it would go through the observatory in Greenwich, England.