INVENTOR

John Harrison

1693 - 1776

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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 how to calculate 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 2025) under the 1714 Longitude Act, though Harrison never received the full reward due to political rivalries. He 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. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. John Harrison is the 98th most popular inventor (up from 104th in 2019), the 933rd most popular biography from United Kingdom (down from 815th in 2019) and the 14th most popular British Inventor.

John Harrison is most famous for inventing the marine chronometer.

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Among INVENTORS

Among inventors, John Harrison ranks 98 out of 426. Before him are André-Jacques Garnerin, Wolfgang von Kempelen, Johann Maria Farina, Sakichi Toyoda, Leo Fender, and Daniel Swarovski. After him are Momofuku Ando, Alexander Stepanovich Popov, Richard Arkwright, Elisha Otis, Charles-Émile Reynaud, and Kōnosuke Matsushita.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1693, John Harrison ranks 4. Before him are Pope Clement XIII, Anna of Russia, and James Bradley. After him are Anne Sophie Reventlow, Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle, Louise Élisabeth de Bourbon, Countess Palatine Elisabeth Auguste Sofie of Neuburg, Georg Rafael Donner, Abul Khair Khan, Alexey Bestuzhev-Ryumin, and John Lombe. Among people deceased in 1776, John Harrison ranks 3. Before him are David Hume, and Yeongjo of Joseon. After him are Philipp Ludwig Statius Müller, Louis François, Prince of Conti, Natalia Alexeievna, James Ferguson, Jeanne Julie Éléonore de Lespinasse, Sabah I bin Jaber, Duchess Maria Anna Josepha of Bavaria, Johann Adolf Scheibe, and John Ellis.

Others Born in 1693

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Others Deceased in 1776

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In United Kingdom

Among people born in United Kingdom, John Harrison ranks 933 out of 8,785. Before him are Kenny Dalglish (1951), Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany (1853), Henry Walter Bates (1825), E. M. Forster (1879), William Parry (1790), and E. H. Carr (1892). After him are Jim Broadbent (1949), Edmund Tudor, Duke of Somerset (1499), Rob Halford (1951), Simon Cowell (1959), Thomas Hill Green (1836), and Tom Wilkinson (1948).

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Among INVENTORS In United Kingdom

Among inventors born in United Kingdom, John Harrison ranks 14. Before him are Frank Whittle (1907), Richard Trevithick (1771), John Boyd Dunlop (1840), Henry Fox Talbot (1800), Rowland Hill (1795), and Thomas Savery (1650). After him are Richard Arkwright (1732), Henry Bessemer (1813), William Webb Ellis (1806), James Hargreaves (1720), Edmund Cartwright (1743), and Samuel Crompton (1753).

British born Inventors

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