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    The Major Events in Clock Making History

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While sun dials, water clocks, sand glasses and buring candles have all been known to be used through histroy to tell time, we will consider the history of clocks starting from the beginning or mechanical clocks in the 1300's.

The Major Events

  • 1300's Appearance of the mechanical clock, powered by falling weights or large springs.

  • 1490 the development of the coiled main spring for use as a power source for clocks (and later watches)

  • 1510 the beginning of the watch making industry

  • 1656 Christiaan Huygens makes the first pendulum clock based on Galileo's earlier designs.

  • 1730's Franz Anton Ketterer creates first cuckoo clock

  • 1840 Alexander Bain made the first electric clock.

  • 1880 GMT becomes the standard time for the United Kingdom.

  • 1918 First plug into mains clock was developed by H.E. Warren

  • 1927 The first quartz clock was built by W.A.Morrison

  • 1937 First quartz crystal clocks used at Greenwich

  • 1955 The atomic clock was invented.

  • 1967 The second was defined as 9,192,631,770 oscillations of the Cesium atoms resonant frequency


While there are many other events (advancements) during the history of clock making, the above are the major defining points that have shaped the clock making industry.




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