Abbady Watch Archive
Harrison
John Harrison was an English carpenter and self-taught clockmaker who devoted much of his life to solving the problem of determining longitude at sea. His sequence of experimental marine timekeepers, H1 through H4, demonstrated that portable precision timekeeping could provide a practical solution.
Abbady photographic archive
Harrison photographs
Origins and period
England; later working in London
John Harrison, 1693–1776
Harrison in watchmaking
John Harrison was an English carpenter and self-taught clockmaker who devoted much of his life to solving the problem of determining longitude at sea. His sequence of experimental marine timekeepers, H1 through H4, demonstrated that portable precision timekeeping could provide a practical solution.
Known for
Marine timekeepers H1–H4, the longitude problem, gridiron pendulums, grasshopper escapements, and precision wooden clocks.
Historical development
John Harrison was an English carpenter and self-taught clockmaker who devoted much of his life to solving the problem of determining longitude at sea. His sequence of experimental marine timekeepers, H1 through H4, demonstrated that portable precision timekeeping could provide a practical solution.