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John Harrison (3 April [O.S. 24 March] 1693 – 24 March 1776) was an English carpenter and clockmaker who invented the marine chronometer, a long-sought-after device for solving the problem of how to calculate longitude while at sea.
John Harrison (born March 1693, Foulby, Yorkshire, Eng.—died March 24, 1776, London) was an English horologist who invented the first practical marine chronometer, which enabled navigators to compute accurately their longitude at sea.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Traditional Attitudes to Time
- The Accuracy of Clocks
- Measuring Longitude
- John Harrison & The Longitude Act
- H1, H2, & h3
- H4 & h5
- Success & Recognition
Prior to the Industrial Revolution, the only area of life that was keen to keep a track of time was in the Church. Sundials have been around since antiquity but mechanical clocks, which had first been invented in Europe in the Middle Ages, were imported to Britain so that churches could offer their services at set times and so that monks and nuns c...
Horologists had been perfecting clocks and watches throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, but the best devices were large and only really accurate when a pendulum was incorporated into the mechanism. Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) had been the first to recognise the importance of a pendulum in keeping a clock accurate, but the first working example w...
The navigational sextant was invented in 1731 by John Hadley. Mariners could accurately measure the latitude they were in (position on a north-south line) by measuring the angle of the sun at noon (in the northern hemisphere) or that of the North Star or Polaris (in the southern hemisphere). The problem remained how to accurately measure how much t...
Harrison had been interested in clocks from an early age, and he built his first longcase (aka 'grandfather') clock entirely out of wood at the age of 20. Harrison, along with his brother James, made a clock for the stables at Brocklesby Park, Grimsby. This was an innovative device since, unlike most other clocks, it did not need lubrication oil fo...
Harrison's first marine chronometer, called H1, was created between 1730 and 1735. The rather large clock operated without being affected by gravity thanks to its moving parts being spring controlled and counterbalanced. Members of the Royal Society were sufficiently impressed with H1 to give it a trial at sea on HMS Centurion. The clock proved dis...
In 1761, Harrison produced his radical H4 chronometer. The watch resembles a large pocket watch and measures just over five inches (13 cm) in diameter. It weighs 3.2 lbs (1.45 kg). The 'sea watch' was put to the practical test of travelling on HMS Deptford from Portsmouth to Jamaica from November 1761 to January 1762. The Board of Longitude was sti...
The Harrison marine chronometer now permitted mariners to accurately measure longitude, but the government still did not reward Harrison with the full cash prize it had promised. There was some wrangling over the terms of the prize. Harrison's H4 chronometer had met the required accuracy stipulations, but now the Admiralty wanted the inventor to ha...
- Mark Cartwright
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Learn how John Harrison, a self-taught carpenter and clock maker, created four remarkable timepieces that helped find the ship's longitude at sea. Discover his challenges, trials, rewards and legacy at Royal Museums Greenwich.
Visit the clocks that changed the world and the man behind them. Learn about the revolutionary Harrison clocks that allowed ships to determine their longitude at sea and the challenges they faced.
Apr 3, 2018 · A self-educated English carpenter and clockmaker who invented the marine chronometer, solving the problem of calculating longitude while at sea. He was awarded a government prize for...
Aug 22, 2012 · Of international scientific importance, the Harrison Clock is only one of only three precision pendulum clocks made by John Harrison and instrumental in solving the Longitude problem. The...
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