Timeline of time measurement technology
Encyclopedia
Timeline
of time
measurement
technology
Timeline
A timeline is a way of displaying a list of events in chronological order, sometimes described as a project artifact . It is typically a graphic design showing a long bar labeled with dates alongside itself and events labeled on points where they would have happened.-Uses of timelines:Timelines...
of time
Time
Time is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....
measurement
Measurement
Measurement is the process or the result of determining the ratio of a physical quantity, such as a length, time, temperature etc., to a unit of measurement, such as the metre, second or degree Celsius...
technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
- 270 BC - CtesibiusCtesibiusCtesibius or Ktesibios or Tesibius was a Greek inventor and mathematician in Alexandria, Ptolemaic Egypt. He wrote the first treatises on the science of compressed air and its uses in pumps...
builds a popular water clockWater clockA water clock or clepsydra is any timepiece in which time is measured by the regulated flow of liquid into or out from a vessel where the amount is then measured.Water clocks, along with sundials, are likely to be the oldest time-measuring instruments, with the only exceptions...
, called a clepsydraWater clockA water clock or clepsydra is any timepiece in which time is measured by the regulated flow of liquid into or out from a vessel where the amount is then measured.Water clocks, along with sundials, are likely to be the oldest time-measuring instruments, with the only exceptions... - 46 BC - Julius CaesarJulius CaesarGaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
and SosigenesSosigenesThere were several historical figures called Sosigenes:*Sosigenes of Alexandria, an astronomer consulted by Julius Caesar for the design of the Julian calendar....
develop a solar calendar with leap years - 11th century - Sets of hourglassHourglassAn hourglass measures the passage of a few minutes or an hour of time. It has two connected vertical glass bulbs allowing a regulated trickle of material from the top to the bottom. Once the top bulb is empty, it can be inverted to begin timing again. The name hourglass comes from historically...
es were maintained by ship's pages to mark the progress of a ship during its voyage - 11th century - Large town clocks were used in Europe to display local time, maintained by hand
- 1335 - First known mechanical clock, in MilanMilanMilan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
- 1502 - Peter HenleinPeter HenleinPeter Henlein , a locksmith and watchmaker from Nuremberg, is often considered the inventor of the portable timekeeper, making him the inventor of the watch, but this claim is disputed...
builds the first pocketwatch - 1582 - Pope Gregory XIIIPope Gregory XIIIPope Gregory XIII , born Ugo Boncompagni, was Pope from 1572 to 1585. He is best known for commissioning and being the namesake for the Gregorian calendar, which remains the internationally-accepted civil calendar to this date.-Youth:He was born the son of Cristoforo Boncompagni and wife Angela...
, Aloysius LiliusAloysius LiliusAloysius Lilius , also variously referred to as Luigi Lilio, Luigi Giglio, or Aluise Baldassar Lilio, was an Italian doctor, astronomer, philosopher and chronologist, and also the "primary author" who provided the proposal that became the basis of the Gregorian Calendar reform of 1582.The crater...
, and Christopher ClaviusChristopher ClaviusChristopher Clavius was a German Jesuit mathematician and astronomer who was the main architect of the modern Gregorian calendar...
introduce a Gregorian calendarGregorian calendarThe Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western calendar, or Christian calendar, is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582, a papal bull known by its opening words Inter...
with an improved leap yearLeap yearA leap year is a year containing one extra day in order to keep the calendar year synchronized with the astronomical or seasonal year...
system - 1655 - CassiniGiovanni Domenico CassiniThis article is about the Italian-born astronomer. For his French-born great-grandson, see Jean-Dominique Cassini.Giovanni Domenico Cassini was an Italian/French mathematician, astronomer, engineer, and astrologer...
builds the heliometer of San Petronio in BolognaBolognaBologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
, to standardise Solar noon. - 1656 - Christian Huygens builds the first accurate pendulum clockPendulum clockA pendulum clock is a clock that uses a pendulum, a swinging weight, as its timekeeping element. The advantage of a pendulum for timekeeping is that it is a resonant device; it swings back and forth in a precise time interval dependent on its length, and resists swinging at other rates...
- 1676 - Motion works and minute hand introduced by Daniel QuareDaniel QuareDaniel Quare was an English clockmaker and instrument maker who Invented a repeating watch movement in 1680 and a portable barometer in 1695.-Biography:...
- 1680 - Second hand introduced
- 1737 - John Harrison presents the first stable marine chronometerMarine chronometerA marine chronometer is a clock that is precise and accurate enough to be used as a portable time standard; it can therefore be used to determine longitude by means of celestial navigation...
, thereby allowing for precise longitudeLongitudeLongitude is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east-west position of a point on the Earth's surface. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees, minutes and seconds, and denoted by the Greek letter lambda ....
determination while at sea - 1850 - Aaron Lufkin DennisonAaron Lufkin DennisonAaron Lufkin Dennison .-Early life:Aaron Dennison was born in Freeport, Maine, after which the family moved to Brunswick, Maine. He was the son of Andrew Dennison, a boot and shoemaker who was also a music teacher. As a child Aaron earned pocket money by carrying a builder’s hod, working as a...
starts in Roxbury, Mass.U.S.A. the Waltham Watch CompanyWaltham Watch CompanyThe Waltham Watch Company, also known as the American Waltham Watch Co. and the American Watch Co., produced about 40 million high quality watches, clocks, speedometers, compasses, time fuses and other precision instruments between 1850 and 1957...
and develops the American System of Watch ManufacturingAmerican System of Watch ManufacturingIn the mid 19th century Aaron Lufkin Dennison became inspired by the manufacturing techniques of the United States Armory at Springfield, Mass. The "armory practice" was mainly based on a strict system of organization, the extensive use of the machine shop and a control system based on gauges...
. - 1884 - International Meridian ConferenceInternational Meridian ConferenceThe International Meridian Conference was a conference held in October 1884 in Washington, D.C., in the United States to determine the Prime Meridian of the world. The conference was held at the request of U.S. President Chester A...
adopts Greenwich Mean TimeGreenwich Mean TimeGreenwich Mean Time is a term originally referring to mean solar time at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London. It is arguably the same as Coordinated Universal Time and when this is viewed as a time zone the name Greenwich Mean Time is especially used by bodies connected with the United...
for consistency with Nevil MaskelyneNevil MaskelyneThe Reverend Dr Nevil Maskelyne FRS was the fifth English Astronomer Royal. He held the office from 1765 to 1811.-Biography:...
's 18th century observations for the Method of Lunar Distances - 1893 - Introduction by Webb C. BallWebb C. BallWebster Clay Ball was a jeweler and watchmaker born in Fredericktown, Ohio. After a two-year apprenticeship to a jeweler, Ball settled in Cleveland, Ohio to join a jewelry store...
of the General Railroad Timepiece Standards in North America: Railroad chronometers - 1928 - Joseph HortonJoseph HortonJoseph Horton , known as Joe was an English cricketer who played 62 first-class matches for Worcestershire in the 1930s....
and Warren Morrison build the first quartz crystal oscillator clockQuartz clockA quartz clock is a clock that uses an electronic oscillator that is regulated by a quartz crystal to keep time. This crystal oscillator creates a signal with very precise frequency, so that quartz clocks are at least an order of magnitude more accurate than good mechanical clocks... - 1946 - Felix BlochFelix BlochFelix Bloch was a Swiss physicist, working mainly in the U.S.-Life and work:Bloch was born in Zürich, Switzerland to Jewish parents Gustav and Agnes Bloch. He was educated there and at the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule, also in Zürich. Initially studying engineering he soon changed to physics...
and Edward PurcellEdward Mills PurcellEdward Mills Purcell was an American physicist who shared the 1952 Nobel Prize for Physics for his independent discovery of nuclear magnetic resonance in liquids and in solids. Nuclear magnetic resonance has become widely used to study the molecular structure of pure materials and the...
develop nuclear magnetic resonanceNuclear magnetic resonanceNuclear magnetic resonance is a physical phenomenon in which magnetic nuclei in a magnetic field absorb and re-emit electromagnetic radiation... - 1949 - Harold Lyons develops an atomic clockAtomic clockAn atomic clock is a clock that uses an electronic transition frequency in the microwave, optical, or ultraviolet region of the electromagnetic spectrum of atoms as a frequency standard for its timekeeping element...
based on the quantum mechanical vibrations of the ammonia molecule - 1982 - The Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry FHFederation of the Swiss Watch Industry FHThe Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry FH is the Swiss watch industry's leading trade association.-History:...
is founded by the merger of two previous organisations - 1983 - Radio-controlled clocks become common place in Europe
- 1994 - Radio-controlled clocks become common place in USA
- 2011 - Peter GriffinPeter GriffinPeter Griffin is a fictional character and the protagonist of the animated comedy series Family Guy and the patriarch of the Griffin family. He is voiced by cartoonist Seth MacFarlane and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the family in the 15-minute short on December 20, 1998....
farted.
External links
- www.germanclocks.org - for a comprehensive view of a timeline of horology