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Primary History: bbc.co.uk/primaryhistory © BBC 2011 British History Worksheet: Harrison Clock John Harrison 1693-1776 - Precision pendulum-clock No. 2, 1727 When a ship’s Captain couldn’t find their location accurately ships could sink and lives and expensive cargoes were lost. This prevented exporting goods to other countries and slowed down the spread of industrial ideas. His first marine watch was made in 1759, the second one used by Captain Cook was made in 1761 and his fourth and final one in 1772 which was accurate to one third of a second per day. Examples of his clocks can be seen in the National Maritime Museum. Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, toasted John Harrison saying ‘You ...started us on our journey’ The clock had a pendulum rod made of alternate wires of brass and steel. This stopped the pendulum expanding in hot weather and slowing to clock. It meant he could make accurate clocks for hot climates. Harrison’s contribution to safe navigation for ships helped the spread of the ideas and goods from the industrial revolution in Britain throughout the world. Harrison’s techniques for navigational instrument design have inspired and helped the inventions of accurate equipment in space ships and satellites used for ship navigation, car sat-nav and satellite television and phone systems. He invented an accurate clock that kept accurate time as a ship travelled across the sea so ships could plot their position. Activity Use the information in the boxes to write a brief radio script, for the 6 or 10 O’clock News, to explain why Harrison’s clock designs were so important to the development of worldwide communication. You should present your key points in between the chimes from a clock like Big Ben for the Six or 10 O’clock News.
