John Harrison Popular Books
John Harrison Biography & Facts
John Harrison (3 April [O.S. 24 March] 1693 – 24 March 1776) was an 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 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 £3.97 million in 2024) under the 1714 Longitude Act, though Harrison was never fully able to receive these rewards due to political rivalries. Harrison presented his first design in 1730, 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. Early life John Harrison was born in Foulby in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the first of five children in his family. His stepfather worked as a carpenter at the nearby Nostell Priory estate. A house on the site of what may have been the family home bears a blue plaque. Around 1700, the Harrison family moved to the Lincolnshire village of Barrow upon Humber. Following his father's trade as a carpenter, Harrison built and repaired clocks in his spare time. Legend has it that at the age of six, while in bed with smallpox, he was given a watch to amuse himself and he spent hours listening to it and studying its moving parts. He also had a fascination with music, eventually becoming choirmaster for the Church of Holy Trinity, Barrow upon Humber. Harrison built his first longcase clock in 1713, at the age of 20. The mechanism was made entirely of wood. Three of Harrison's early wooden clocks have survived: the first (1713) is in the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers' collection, previously in the Guildhall in London and since 2015 on display in the Science Museum. The second (1715) is also in the Science Museum in London the third (1717) is at Nostell Priory in Yorkshire, the face bearing the inscription "John Harrison Barrow". The Nostell example, in the billiards room of this stately home, has a Victorian outer case with small glass windows on each side of the movement so that the wooden workings may be inspected. On 30 August 1718, John Harrison married Elizabeth Barret at Barrow-upon-Humber church. After her death in 1726, he married Elizabeth Scott on 23 November 1726, at the same church. In the early 1720s, Harrison was commissioned to make a new turret clock at Brocklesby Park, North Lincolnshire. The clock still works, and like his previous clocks has a wooden movement of oak and lignum vitae. Unlike his early clocks, it incorporates some original features to improve timekeeping, for example the grasshopper escapement. Between 1725 and 1728, John and his brother James, also a skilled joiner, made at least three precision longcase clocks, again with the movements and longcase made of oak and lignum vitae. The grid-iron pendulum was developed during this period. Of these longcase clocks: Number 1 is in a private collection. Until 2004, it belonged to the Time Museum (USA), which closed in 2000. Number 2 is in the Leeds City Museum, as the centrepiece of a permanent display dedicated to John Harrison's achievements. The exhibition, "John Harrison: The Clockmaker Who Changed the World", opened on 23 January 2014. It was the first longitude-related event marking the tercentenary of the Longitude Act. Number 3 is in the collection of the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers'. Harrison was a man of many skills and he used these to systematically improve the performance of the pendulum clock. He invented the gridiron pendulum, consisting of alternating brass and iron rods assembled in such a way that the thermal expansions and contractions essentially cancel each other out. Another example of his inventive genius was the grasshopper escapement, a control device for the step-by-step release of a clock's driving power. Developed from the anchor escapement, it was almost frictionless, requiring no lubrication because the pallets were made from wood. This was an important advantage at a time when lubricants and their degradation were little understood. In his earlier work on sea clocks, Harrison was continually assisted, both financially and in many other ways, by the watchmaker and instrument maker George Graham. Harrison was introduced to Graham by the Astronomer Royal Edmond Halley, who championed Harrison and his work. This support was important to Harrison, as he was supposed to have found it difficult to communicate his ideas in a coherent manner. Longitude problem Longitude fixes the location of a place on Earth east or west of a north–south reference line called the prime meridian. It is given as an angular measurement that ranges from 0° at the prime meridian to +180° eastward and −180° westward. Knowledge of a ship's east–west position is essential when approaching land. Over long voyages, cumulative errors in estimates of position by dead reckoning frequently led to shipwrecks and a great loss of life. Avoiding such disasters became vital in Harrison's lifetime, in an era when trade and the need for accurate navigation were increasing dramatically around the world. Many ideas were proposed for how to determine longitude during a sea voyage. Earlier methods attempted to compare local time with the known time at a reference place, such as Greenwich or Paris, based on a simple theory that had first been proposed by Gemma Frisius. The methods relied on astronomical observations that were themselves reliant on the predictable nature of the motions of different heavenly bodies. Such methods were problematic because of the difficulty in maintaining an accurate record of the time at the reference place. Harrison set out to solve the problem directly, by producing a reliable clock that could keep the time of the reference place accurately over long intervals without having to constantly adjust it. The difficulty was in producing a clock that was not affected by variations in temperature, pressure, or humidity, resisted corrosion in salt air, and was able to function on board a constantly moving ship. Many scientists, including Isaac Newton and Christiaan Huygens, doubted that such a clock could ever be built and favoured other methods for reckoning longitude, such as the method of lunar distances. Huygens ran trials using both a pendulum and a spiral balance spring clock as methods of determining longitude, with both types producing inconsistent results. Newton observed that "a good watch may serve to keep a reckoning at sea for some days and to know the time of a celestial.... Discover the John Harrison popular books. Find the top 100 most popular John Harrison books.
Best Seller John Harrison Books of 2024
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The Beatles
Bob SpitzThe definitive biography of The Beatles, hailed as "irresistible" by the New York Times, "riveting" by the Boston Globe, and "masterful" by Time. As soon as The Beatles became famo...
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Doctor Dolittle The Complete Collection, Vol. 2
Hugh LoftingJust in time for the major motion picture Dolittle starring Robert Downey Jr.soaring into theaters on January 17, 2020!Journey into the world of Doctor Dolittle, the kind and eccen...
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Uncommon Ground
Timothy Keller & John InazuHow can Christians today interact with those around them in a way that shows respect to those whose beliefs are radically different but that also remains faithful to the gospel? Jo...
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Black Moon
Seabury QuinnThe concluding volume in a series collecting the stories of Jules de Grandin, the supernatural detective made famous in the classic pulp magazine Weird Tales. Today the names of H...
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Being John Lennon
Ray ConnollyWhat was it like to be John Lennon? What was it like to be the castoff child, the clown at school, and the middleclass suburban boy who pretended to be a workingclass hero? How did...
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Chronicles
Bob DylanWINNER OF THE NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE The celebrated first memoir from arguably the most influential singersongwriter in the country, Bob Dylan.“I’d come from a long ways off and...
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George Harrison
Philip NormanFrom the premiere Beatles biographerauthor of the New York Times bestseller John Lennon: The Life and Shout!: The Beatles in Their Generationa rare and “absorbing biography” (Wall ...
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In His Own Write and A Spaniard in the Works
John LennonAN OMNIBUS EDITION OF JOHN LENNON’ S WHIMSICAL POETRY, PROSE, AND DRAWINGS, REISSUED IN CELEBRATION OF THE 70TH ANNIVERSARY OF HIS BIRTH.
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The Traveling Feast
Rick BassAcclaimed author Rick Bass decided to thank all of his writing heroes in person, one meal at a time, in this "rich smorgasbord of a memoir . . . a soulnourishing, roadburning act o...
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The Beatles Book
Hunter DaviesHunter Davies, the only ever authorised biographer of the group, has produced the essential Beatles guide. Divided into four sections – People, Songs, Places and Broadcast and Cin...
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The Physics of Star Wars
Patrick JohnsonExplore the physics behind the world of Star Wars, with engaging topics and accessible information that shows how we’re closer than ever before to creating technology from the gala...
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Doctor Dolittle The Complete Collection, Vol. 1
Hugh LoftingJust in time for the major motion picture Dolittle starring Robert Downey Jr.soaring into theaters on January 17, 2020!Journey into the world of Doctor Dolittle, the kind and eccen...
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Play It Loud
Brad Tolinski & Alan di PernaThe inspiration for the Play It Loud exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art"Every guitar player will want to read this book twice. And even the casual music fan wil...
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Love and Let Die
John HiggsA deepdive into the unique connections between the two titans of the British cultural psychethe Beatles and the Bond filmsand what they tell us about class, sexuality, and our aspi...
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The Squiggly Career
Helen Tupper & Sarah EllisTHE NO.1 SUNDAY TIMES BUSINESS BESTSELLER'The Squiggly Career is about navigating work in a way that suits you, it's a timely and brilliant handbook for now' Stylist 'A brilliant ...
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Beneath the Stairs
Jennifer FawcettIn this spinetingling, atmospheric “nailbiter of a novel” (Shelf Awareness), a woman returns to her hometown after her childhood friend attempts suicide at an alleged haunted house...
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The Beatles from A to Zed
Peter AsherA legendary record producer and performer takes readers on an alphabetical journey of insights into the music of the Beatles and individual reminiscences of John, Paul, George, and...
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The Dark Angel
Seabury QuinnThe third of five volumes collecting the stories of Jules de Grandin, the supernatural detective made famous in the classic pulp magazine Weird Tales.Today the names of H. P. Lovec...
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Abbey Road
David Hepworth & Paul McCartneyThe incredible history of how Abbey Road became the most famous recording studio in the world. "There are certain things that are mythical. Abbey Road is mythical."N...
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Paul McCartney
Peter Ames CarlinFrom the acclaimed biographer who brought you the rock biography of Bruce Springsteen comes the life of musician Paul McCartneyfrom his groundbreaking years with the Beatles to Win...
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Out of the Ruins
Preston Grassmann, Emily St. John Mandel, Carmen Maria Machado, China Miéville & Clive BarkerA fresh postapocalyptic anthology: the end of the world seen through the salvage and ruins. Featuring Emily St John Mandel, Carmen Maria Machado and more. WHAT WOULD YOU...
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The Season
Charlotte BinghamAn immensely readable drama of period society that you WILL NOT be able to put down. Authored by the million copy and Sunday Times bestselling author Charlotte Bingham, perfect for...
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The Beatles Lyrics
Hunter Davies"Rich with insider authenticity...Gives us a glimpse into genius": the definitive book of Beatles songs, shown as first written by their own hands and put into authoritative contex...
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A Rival from the Grave
Seabury QuinnThe fourth of five volumes collecting the stories of Jules de Grandin, the supernatural detective made famous in the classic pulp magazine Weird Tales. Today the names of H. P. Lov...
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Always Look on the Bright Side of Life
Eric IdleNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER From the ingenious comic performer, founding member of Monty Python, and creator of Spamalot (now back on Broadway!), comes an absurdly funny memoir...
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All the Hearts You Eat
Hailey PiperA visceral and heartbreaking work of gothic horror about small town mysteries, local folklore and the things we leave behind when we're gone, from the Bram Stoker Award winning aut...
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The Search for John Lennon
Lesley-Ann JonesPulling back the many hidden layers of John Lennon’s life, LesleyAnnJones closely tracks the events and personality traits that led to the rock star living in selfimposed exile in ...
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Imagine This
Julia Baird'Honest and poignant' THE SUNThe honest and revealing story of John Lennon's childhood by his sister Julia. Through her own personal journey, Julia reveals the battle between two s...
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All The Songs
Philippe Margotin, Jean-Michel Guesdon, Scott Freiman & Patti SmithIn this lively and fullyillustrated work, two music historians break down every album and every song ever released by the Beatles, from "Please Please Me" (U.S. 1963) to "The Long ...
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Doctor Dolittle The Complete Collection, Vol. 4
Hugh LoftingJust in time for the major motion picture Dolittle starring Robert Downey Jr.soaring into theaters on January 17, 2020!Journey into the world of Doctor Dolittle, the kind and eccen...
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The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Presidents, Part 1
Larry SchweikartA book to challenge the status quo, spark a debate, and get people talking about the issues and questions we face as a country!
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Inspector French and the Mystery on Southampton Water
Freeman Wills CroftsTo mark the publishing centenary of Freeman Wills Crofts, ‘The King of Detective Story Writers’, this is one of six classic crime novels being issued in 2020 featuring Inspector Fr...
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All Things Must Pass
Marc ShapiroGeorge Harrison was always known as the 'quiet Beatle' As part of the biggest band in pop history, he took a back seat to Paul McCartney and John Lennon, but his talent shone throu...
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And in the End
Ken McNabKen McNab's indepth look at The Beatles' acrimonious final year is a detailed account of the breakup featuring the perspectives of all four band members and their roles. A must to ...
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Doctor Dolittle The Complete Collection, Vol. 3
Hugh LoftingJust in time for the major motion picture Dolittle starring Robert Downey Jr.soaring into theaters on January 17, 2020!Journey into the world of Doctor Dolittle, the kind and eccen...
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Theodore Roosevelt on Bravery
Theodore RooseveltTeddy Roosevelt is the only president in history to deliver a ninetyminute speech directly after being shot in the chest. He’s a Nobel Prize recipient, a Harvard graduate, and he w...
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Leon Russell
Bill JanovitzNew York Times Bestseller The definitive biography of legendary musician, composer, and performer Leon Russell, a profound influence on countless artists, including George Har...
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John
Cynthia LennonThe New York Times bestselling exposé of the real John Lennon, written by his exwife. The time has come when I feel ready to tell the truth about John and me, our years together ...