UK Mega 2021: Lincolnshire
18 Lincolnshire Legends: John Harrison
This a straightforward series which was published for the 2021 UK Mega, held at the nearby Lincolnshire Showground. The series celebrates the many famous people who were either born in, lived in or associated with the glorious county of Lincolnshire!
John Harrison, Clockmaker.
John Harrison (1693 - 1776 was a self-educated English carpenter and clockmaker who invented the marine chronometer, a long-sought-after device for solving the problem of calculating longitude while at sea.
Harrison's solution revolutionized navigation and greatly increased the safety of long-distance sea travel. The problem he solved was considered so important following the Scilly naval disaster of 1707 that the British Parliament offered financial rewards of up to £20,000 (equivalent to £3.17 million in 2021) under the 1714 Longitude Act.
In 1730, Harrison presented his first design, and worked over many years on improved designs, making several advances in time-keeping technology, finally turning to what were called sea watches. Harrison gained support from the Longitude Board in building and testing his designs. Toward the end of his life, he received recognition and a reward from Parliament. Harrison came 39th in the BBC's 2002 public poll of the 100 Greatest Britons.
Harrison was born in Foulby in Yorkshire, but in around 1700, the Harrison family moved to the Lincolnshire village of Barrow upon Humber. He also had a fascination for music, eventually becoming choirmaster for Barrow parish church. In the early 1720s, Harrison was commissioned to make a new turret clock at Brocklesby Park in North Lincolnshire. The clock still works, and like his previous clocks has a wooden movement of oak and lignum vitae.
