1730

John Harrison

Longitude clock sets new record

for keeping time - 300 years on!

JJ

Bingo!  In 1773, when Harrison was an 80 year old man, he finally received the recognition, and prize money, he deserved from 'red-faced officials', after KING GEORGE III intervened on his behalf.  He changed maritime navigation forever and achieved something that had baffled the greatest minds of the 18th century.  Making sea travel much safer, even Captain Cook had a Marine Chronometer!

JJ

The 1707 Scilly Isles disaster stirred public opinion, contributed to the passing of the 1714 Longitude Act, and became the hub of marine discussion at Lloyd's Coffee House. In 1760, over a cup of coffee, LLOYD'S REGISTER was started, now turning over £1 billion...how the world has changed! 

JJ

Longitude had baffled the greatest minds on the planet from Galilei,

to Newton, to Halley.  They all thought the answer lay in the 'clockwork'

of the heavens - in mapping the stars!