The name for the meridian with 0 degrees longitude is letter A or Prime Meridian. Longitude is measured through the angle from the Prime Meridian – with Greenwich having the zero point of longitude. So, why was Greenwich chosen as the place where the longitude line of zero begins? It is because Sir George Airy established the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England in 1851 to be the starting point of zero degrees longitude.
However, it was only in 1884 when it was unilaterally agreed that the Prime Meridian crosses Greenwich. Hence, Greenwich became the official position of zero degrees longitude on Earth. It is also worthy to note that the Prime Meridian and its antemeridian form the great circle which divides earth into Eastern and Western Hemisphere.
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