biography
| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1693–1776)
|
| biography:
| Inventor and horologist, born in Foulby, West Yorkshire, N England, UK. By 1726 he had constructed a clock with compensating apparatus for correcting errors due to variations of climate. In 1713 the British government had offered three prizes for the discovery of a method to determine longitude accurately (only possible with very accurate timepieces). After long perseverance he developed a marine chronometer which, in a voyage to Jamaica (1761–2) determined the longitude within two geographical miles. After further trials, he was awarded the first prize (1765–73). |
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