John Harrison


John Harrison was a self-educated carpenter who became a clockmaker. He invented the marine chronometer, a long-sought device in solving the problem of establishing the East-West position or longitude of a ship at sea, thus revolutionising and extending the possibility of safe long distance sea travel in the Age of Sail. His invention was one of the most important developments in maritime science in the Eighteenth Century. He was awarded with the government's prize for his work on solving the problem of calculating longitude through accurate time keeping pieces on board constantly moving ships.


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by Stephen Luscombe