Google Doodle reminds us of the John Harrison on his 325th birth anniversary, English clockmaker who invented the marine chronometer in 1761, a tool that allows to accurately determine longitude on the high seas, revolutionizing and thus giving a decisive contribution to the development of navigation. His most famous watches are 5 and are named Harrison 1, 2, 3 and so on. Son of a carpenter who also worked as guardian of a country estate, the young John made modest studies in his schools in Yorkshire, England.
The turning point for him was when a practical mechanics book came into his hands: he was so fascinated that he studied it carefully, word by word, on several notebooks, enlarging it and reshaping charts that were drawn inside it.
About John Harrison Life:
At about 20 years of age, without ever having practiced as a carpenter, Harrison began his career building his first pendulum clock, which had a very interesting feature: it was completely made of wood. The watches that John Harrison built are displayed at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich.
