Wine gallon

A wine gallon is a unit of capacity that was used routinely in England as far back as the 14th century, and by statute under Queen Anne since 1707. Britain abandoned the wine gallon in 1826 when it adopted imperial units for measurement. The 1707 wine gallon is the basis of the United States' gallon, as well as other measures.[1]

Some research concludes that the wine gallon was originally meant to hold 8 troy pounds of wine.[1] The 1707 British statute defines the wine gallon as 231 cubic inches (3,790 cm3) – e.g. a cylinder 7 inches (178 mm) in diameter and 6 inches (152 mm) high,[2] c. 3.785 liter – and was used to measure the volume of wine and other commercial liquids such as cooking oils and honey.[3] A 14th-century barrel of wine contained 31.5 gallons, which equals one-eighth of the tun of 252 gallons.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Rowlett, Russ (September 13, 2001). "Gallon". How Many? A Dictionary of Units of Measurement. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 2010-10-31.
  2. ↑ π was often approximated 3 1⁄7 at the time.
  3. ↑ "wine barrel". Sizes.com. 2009-02-02. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
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