A craftsman cabinetmaker and self-taught clockmaker, the Englishman John Harrison left his mark on the 18th century—and, beyond that, on the entire history of horology—through two major inventions: the pendulum and the marine chronometer. Once viewed with suspicion by his peers, he has, over time, entered the pantheon of great names in horology.
The hallmark of great inventors is their ability to defy time. John Harrison is one of them. In April 2015, the National Maritime Museum in London hosted the presentation of an award from the Guinness Book of Records for the “most accurate mechanical pendulum clock,” a clock known as “Clock B,” designed by Harrison… 250 years earlier! This timepiece proved, in fact, that it could be accurate to within one second over a period of 100 days. A project that at the time had been considered “so incoherent and absurd” that it approached “the symptoms of madness” (as described in this article in English).
This anecdote alone perfectly encapsulates who John Harrison was: a genius of his time, ignored by his peers, whose innovative and meticulous work would only be recognized much later.
The man embodied a kind of logic of precision throughout his life. So much so that he died on the exact anniversary of his birth, March 24, 1776, in London, at the age of 83. Born in the county of Yorkshire, young John Harrison became interested in horology very early. And for good reason: at 6 years old, the boy, suffering from chickenpox, was confined to spending long days in bed, locked in his room. To distract him, his parents gave him a watch, whose workings young John explored for hours on end. This was the beginning of a passion that he would perfectly combine with his other talent: cabinetmaking.
As an adult, Harrison distinguished himself through the manufacture of wooden clocks, which provided numerous opportunities to produce innovative mechanisms. Around 1720, he fulfilled a commission from the town of Brocklesby Park for a new clock: his creation, made entirely of oak and lignum vitae wood, featured a homemade invention, the “grasshopper escapement,” a frictionless movement that required no lubrication. Then, between 1725 and 1728, with the help of his brother James, also a cabinetmaker, he designed three pendulum clocks—another invention of his own making. The bimetallic balance pendulum, resistant to temperature changes, would become a major creation in the history of horology.
But the other invention that would make Harrison famous, to which he would literally devote a major part of the rest of his life, was the manufacture of marine chronometers. An object that profoundly changed the way of navigating.
Here is a selection of horological inventions we owe to Harrison:
John Harrison, or the Art of Designing Wooden Timepieces
The hallmark of great inventors is their ability to defy time. John Harrison is one of them. In April 2015, the National Maritime Museum in London hosted the presentation of an award from the Guinness Book of Records for the “most accurate mechanical pendulum clock,” a clock known as “Clock B,” designed by Harrison… 250 years earlier! This timepiece proved, in fact, that it could be accurate to within one second over a period of 100 days. A project that at the time had been considered “so incoherent and absurd” that it approached “the symptoms of madness” (as described in this article in English).
This anecdote alone perfectly encapsulates who John Harrison was: a genius of his time, ignored by his peers, whose innovative and meticulous work would only be recognized much later.
The man embodied a kind of logic of precision throughout his life. So much so that he died on the exact anniversary of his birth, March 24, 1776, in London, at the age of 83. Born in the county of Yorkshire, young John Harrison became interested in horology very early. And for good reason: at 6 years old, the boy, suffering from chickenpox, was confined to spending long days in bed, locked in his room. To distract him, his parents gave him a watch, whose workings young John explored for hours on end. This was the beginning of a passion that he would perfectly combine with his other talent: cabinetmaking.
As an adult, Harrison distinguished himself through the manufacture of wooden clocks, which provided numerous opportunities to produce innovative mechanisms. Around 1720, he fulfilled a commission from the town of Brocklesby Park for a new clock: his creation, made entirely of oak and lignum vitae wood, featured a homemade invention, the “grasshopper escapement,” a frictionless movement that required no lubrication. Then, between 1725 and 1728, with the help of his brother James, also a cabinetmaker, he designed three pendulum clocks—another invention of his own making. The bimetallic balance pendulum, resistant to temperature changes, would become a major creation in the history of horology.
But the other invention that would make Harrison famous, to which he would literally devote a major part of the rest of his life, was the manufacture of marine chronometers. An object that profoundly changed the way of navigating.
Here is a selection of horological inventions we owe to Harrison:
- The gridiron bimetallic pendulum, in steel and brass—an alternative to George Graham’s mercury pendulum.
- The “grasshopper escapement,” a recoil escapement for pendulum clocks—but so difficult to adjust that it was used essentially by Harrison himself.
- The roller bearing.