John Harrison and the Quest for Longitude

by Jonathan Betts

John Harrison and the Quest for Longitude, in a revised and updated edition, is a fascinating account of the life and achievements of John Harrison, the man who designed and built the first accurate marine chronometers.

Inspired by the prize offered in 1714 to provide a solution to the problem of determining longitudinal position at sea, John Harrison – a carpenter by trade – set out to develop portable clocks that would rival even the most precise watches of the time. His famous ‘H’ timepieces went on to revolutionise sea travel and save many thousands of lives. Now housed in the collection of Royal Observatory Greenwich, they are milestones in clock- making history.

Beautifully illustrated with images that showcase the intricate detail and mechanisms of the timepieces,John Harrison and the Quest for Longitudetells the story of one man driven by the need to solve one of the greatest practical problems of his time.

128 pages, Hardcover

Published June 29, 2023

About the author

Jonathan Betts MBE is Senior Specialist in horology at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, a horological scholar and author, and an expert on the first marine timekeepers created by John Harrison in the middle of the 18th century. From a family of retail watchmakers and jewellers, he took the British Horological Institute finals in technical horology in 1975 he was awarded the Tremayne National Prize for Practical Watchmaking. For the following five years, he practised as a self-employed horology conservator. In 1980 he was appointed Senior Horology Conservator at the National Maritime Museum and in 1989 was presented the museum's Callender Award for his contribution to horological conservation. He was appointed Curator of Horology in 1990 and became Senior Specialist in 2001. He is the biographer of Rupert Gould, the restorer of the Harrison timekeepers. The biography was published in 2006 by Oxford University Press under the title Time Restored: The Harrison Timekeepers and RT Gould, the Man Who Knew Everything. In 2002 he was awarded the Clockmakers' Company's Harrison Gold Medal and the British Horological Institute's Barett Medal in 2008, and is a Huntington Fellow at the Mariners Museum, Newport News, Virginia. He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, of the British Horological Institute, and of the International Institute of Conservation.

Reviews

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came across this book at the souvenir shop of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich. It tells the twist-filled journey of John Harrison, a very skillful clockmaker who invented exceptionally precise marine chronometers, in his pursuit of the Longitude Rewards offered by the British Government. The book includes photos and diagrams of Harrison’s clock designs, along with brief explanations of how clocks work and the breakthrough innovations he made. Great story and information.

[Andrew Hickey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice synopsis of the longitude challenge and an amazing technology evolution

[Curtis Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good. Thanks Mitch!