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Definition: Harrison, John from Chambers Biographical Dictionary

1693-1776

English inventor and horologist

He was born in Foulby, Yorkshire, and by 1726 had constructed a timekeeper with compensating apparatus for correcting errors due to variations of climate. In 1713 the British government had offered three prizes for the discovery of a method to determine longitude accurately. After long perseverance he developed a marine chronometer which, in a voyage to Jamaica (1761-62) determined the longitude within 18 geographical miles (or 29 km). After further trials, he was awarded the first prize (1765-73). He also invented the gridiron pendulum (1726), the going fusee, and the remontoir escapement.

Harrison, John (1693-1776)

From Encyclopedia of Time: Science, Philosophy, Theology, & Culture
John Harrison, born in Foulby, England, became one of the world's most renowned horologists. He won the Board of Longitude Prize for developing a chronometer that could be used aboard ship to measure longitude to within 0.5 degree at the end of a voyage to the West Indies. About 1720 he had designed a timepiece that included a compensating apparatus by using different metals for correcting errors due to variations in the weather. Scientifically speaking, Harrison invented a timepiece that allowed for temperature changes or distortion. The first chronometer, which weighed 65 pounds, was completed and submitted to the Board in 1735 and was tested aboard ship the following year. The accuracy of the chronometer was outstanding, but like many inventions it had its detractors. He then built three more; the fourth, in 1761, more than met the standard for the prize, as did the first one. But it wasn't until 1773 that he was fully compensated by the Board. Up to the early 18th century, ships…
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Full text Article Harrison, John (1693-1776)

From The Hutchinson Dictionary of Scientific Biography
Place: United Kingdom, England Subject : biography, physics English horologist and instrumentmaker who made the first chronometers that were accurate enough to allow the precise determination of longitude at sea, and so permit reliable (and safe) navigation over long distances. Harrison was born in…
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Full text Article Harrison, John (1693–1776).

From The Oxford Companion to British History
Horologist. From the 15th cent. onwards, when mariners began to make long ocean voyages, the difficulty of estimating the exact longitude at sea had cost the lives of thousands of sailors, most notably of Sir *Clowdesley Shovell and his crews off the Scillies in 1707. In 1714 Parliament, in the…
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John Harrison (1693-1776) from 'The Gallery of Portraits', published 1833 (engraving)
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Facsimile of the Pocket Chronometer No.4 Designed by John Harrison (1693-1776) and Made by Larcum and Kendall, Accompanied by the Testimony of Captain James Cook (1728-1779) (b/w photo)
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Full text Article latitude and longitude

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Imaginary lines used to locate position on the globe. Lines of latitude are drawn parallel to the Equator, with 0° at the Equator and 90° at the north and south poles. Lines of longitude are drawn at right-angles to these, with 0° (the Prime Meridian) passing through Greenwich, England. The 0-degree…
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Full text Article longitude

From The Penguin Dictionary of Science
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Clockmakers were continually searching for new ways of making their clocks more accurate. In 1715 George Graham ( c .1673-1751) invented the deadbeat anchor escapement, which eliminated all elements of recoil when the pallets engaged the escape wheel, and in 1726 he created a pendulum with a glass, …
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(born March 1693, Foulby, Yorkshire, England—died March 24, 1776, London) John Harrison invented the first practical marine chronometer, which enabled navigators to compute accurately their longitude at sea. The son of a carpenter and a mechanic, he became interested in constructing an accurate…
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Full text Article measure of time

From Science Encyclopedia: Encyclopedia of Marine Science
The measure of time is a procedure that informs people when events take place in their daily lives and makes possible accurate navigation, astronomical prediction, and the conduct of scientific experiments. Time is a difficult quantity to define, except in terms of itself. Physicists, beginning with…
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Until the 19th century the clock was one of the most sophisticated machines in the world, and over the centuries clockmakers have created increasingly accurate mechanisms in a variety of case designs. Knowledge of mechanisms, dials, and cases will help in determining a clock’s age and authenticity. …
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