Counting Days Led To Development Of Old Clocks

Throughout recorded history and possibly before humans have had an infatuation with time, apparently never having enough and from Stonehenge and sundials to pocket watches and alarm clocks, the old clocks and new all share the same common goal of helping people know what time it is.

From the time that ancient Egyptians realized the dog star, now known as Sirius rose next to the sun every 365 days, they devised a calendar based on that annual arrival, which included the flooding of the Nile River. That was 4236 BC and is the first recorded year in history. From this many old clocks were developed to count the number of hours and days, as well as the lunar activity and rising and falling tides. Most of these old clocks were nothing more than sticks with holes in them that were manually advanced as the sun progressed through the sky.

Sundials made their appearance briefly and while based on a fascinating theory, the shifting of the Earth’s rotation as well as cloudy days rendered them unreliable. Additionally, they were worthless during the dark. Although many of the old clocks were based on the movement of the sun and over time were adjusted according to the seasons as they became better understood.

First Alarm Clock Only Had One Setting

The first mechanical alarm clock was developed in 1787 in New Hampshire but had one major glitch. The bell on the alarm could only go off at four in the morning. It was not until 1876 that old clocks with an adjustable alarm were developed. The patent was held by Seth Thomas and is the basic for many mechanical alarms used today.

Prior to 1912 all clocks were operated either by winding the main spring or the mechanical action of a pendulum. In this year the Warren Clock Company introduced old clocks that were operated by battery. As pocket watches became prevalent in the early 17th century, a French mathematician tied a strong to it and wore it around his wrist, becoming the first person to wear a wrist watch, the most common timepiece now in use.

Since many of the old clocks were operated by weights, the size was such that portability was a problem. Grandfather clocks became one of the most widely used type of old clocks followed by a smaller version that could fit on the mantle of a home’s fireplace or tabletop. The sizes and shapes of clocks have gone through many changes over the centuries with the only thing remaining constant is the human’s fascination with time.