John Harrison

English clockmaker (1693–1776)

John Harrison (3 April 1693 [O.S. 24 March 1692] – 24 March 1776) was an English joiner and clockmaker who invented the marine chronometer, a long-sought device for solving the problem of how to calculate longitude while at sea. Harrison's solution revolutionized navigation and greatly increased the safety of long-distance sea travel. The problem he solved had been considered so important following the Scilly naval disaster of 1707 that the British Parliament was offering financial rewards of up to £20,000 (equivalent to £3.83 million in 2025) under the 1714 Longitude Act, though Harrison never received the full reward due to political rivalries.

From Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA. More on occurri.