Satellite Navigation (Score 2)

The principle of satellite navigation is much older than this swede. A couple of weeks ago I read a science fiction story from the turn of the century (I mean around 1900) where a bunch of people started a satellite on a polar orbit for navigational purposes. Of course the wanted to use it optically (what made the satellite bright white and large), but the principle was if not born in that story then at least known back then.
Digging in science history is fun!