Fathoms to meters in different languages

[Petersen, Mary Elizabeth (MSX)]

Monday, 22 March 1999

Are conversion tables from fathoms to meters (or linear nonmetric to metric)
for different countries available anywhere on the WWW? For example, a Danish
fathom is 1.883 m whereas the Imperial (British or American) fathom is only
1.829 m, but if there are web sites with this kind of information, I am
asking the wrong questions as I have not been able to find them. Are there
similar differences for other European countries? For example, what system
does France follow? Germany? - Would this be the Bavarian system?

At the smaller end of the scale, a Danish inch is (still) 26.112 mm and a
Danish line (1/12 of a Danish inch) is 2.176 mm, whereas an Imperial inch is
25.4 mm and the line is 2.116 mm.

These nonmetric measurements, especially fathoms ("orgyiar" in the Latin of
Malmgren, 1867) and lines, occur in many older descriptions and station
lists from the 1800s. While there is a good chance that the error inherent
in the method of measuring may be greater than the difference caused by the
conversion system used, when one knows that such differences did (do) exist,
it is unsatisfactory to use a conversion factor that one knows is incorrect
to start with.

De Vries (1959) gives some miscellaneous measurements (p. 558) and points
out that there are differences between Swiss, Bavarian, English and French
linear measures, e.g., 1 Swiss ligne (line) = 0.082 English inch; Bavaria,
0.080 inch (as compared to French Ligne, 0.089 inch).

De Vries, L. 1959. German-English Science Dictionary (3rd ed.). McGraw Hill
Book Company, Inc. 592 pp. (At least one later edition of this excellent
book is available, but I have not seen it.)

Thanks in advance for any input.

Mary E. Petersen
Zoological Museum, University of Copenhagen
Mepetersen at zmuc.ku.dk