Sea Clocks: The Story of Longitude

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share a commission.

Sea Clocks: The Story of Longitude

Sea Clocks: The Story of Longitude: Sailors knew how to measure latitude, their location north or south of the equator, but they could not measure longitude, their location east or west of their home port. Because of this, many lives were lost worldwide. 

Buy from Amazon
About the Book

Sea Clocks: The Story of Longitude

“For hundreds of years ships had been sailing to places far and near without really knowing where they were!”

Sailors knew how to measure latitude, their location north or south of the equator, but they could not measure longitude, their location east or west of their home port. Because of this, many lives were lost worldwide.

The key to solving this problem lay in devising a clock that could keep absolutely accurate time while at sea, unaltered by rough water or weather conditions. With such a timekeeper sailors would be able to know the time back at their home port and calculate the longitude. But no one knew how to design such a clock.

John Harrison (1693-1776), an Englishman without any scientific training, worked tirelessly for more than forty years to create a perfect clock. The solution to this problem was so important that an award of 20,000 pounds sterling (equal to several million dollars today) was established by the English Parliament in 1714. Harrison won recognition for his work in 1773.

Together with beautifully detailed pictures by Erik Blegvad, Louise Borden’s text takes the reader through the drama, disappointments, and successes that filled Harrison’s quest to invent the perfect sea clock.

Other Books in "Picture Book Bios"
Look Inside
Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the page above are "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."