Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-06-07
HOROLOGY.
How Time Was Formerly Mensured-The In
yention OF Clocks and Watches.

How Time Was Formerly Mensuied-The In-
vention or Clocks and Watches.
The greatest interest will be found in
the history Of the origin and develop
ment of clocks and watches. The first
gnomen or sun-dial Of which we have
any historical notice is that Of King
Ahaz, about 740 years before the Chris
tian era. tits mentioned, III Kings XXX,
xi. And Isaiah the prophet cried
unto the Lord and he brought the
shadow ten degrees backward, by which
it had gone down in the dial of Ahaz."
The ancients used hemispherical dial
plates, with the radius which throws
the shadow running north and south
those now in use are fiat, with the edge
of the shadow radius forming an angle
with the horizon equal to the latitude
in which they are situated or parallel
to the earths axis. Although it was
possible to tell the time by mathe-
matically-adjusted sun-dial to within a
few minutes, they were in great mea-
sure superseded at very early date by
clepsydre and sand-glass. The most
usual form Of clepsytr@ or water
clocks, seems to have been graduated
vessel containing a float, into which
water dropped from another vessel,
the float as it rose, indicating
the time of day. The sand clocks
Tor glasses) seem to have been
very similar to an ordinary hour
glass of the present day. These are
supposed to have been Of very early
origin. Candle clocks were later
method of marking time. 1t is rather
remarkable that, long before the inyen-
ton of wheel clocks, planetariums, or
orreries, were we'll known. The first
modern planetarium in England was
one made for Lord Orrery, whose name
has been since generally given to
these machines, and that our FORE
fathers looked upon the planetary
motions as the true measure Of
time may be proved by the fact
that the first clocks constructed near
ly always showed various astro-
nomical phenomena, in addition to
showing or striking the hour Of the
day. Very little is known, it would
seem, about the first invention Of wheel
clocks, no two writers seemingly agree
ing as to the exact period Of their intro
| duction. Although some historians as
sign it to such an early date as even the
sixth century, it is not very probable
that they are correct, the words horo-
logium, horologe, etc., having been ap-
Piled unfortunately in old writings to
any machine for measuring time. 1t is
pretty certain, however, that clocks
driven by weights and striking auto
matically existed in the eleventh
century. The oldest clocks in
| England were that of st. Parl's Cathe-
dral, London, and one at West
minister, which latter was paid for out
| of a fine imposed by Edward l., in the
year 1858, upon Sir Ralph de Heng-
ham. Chief Justice of the Kings Bench,
for corrupt practices. st. Paul ante
dated the latter by at least two years.
From these dates the manufacture OF
clocks would appear to have become .
settled industry in England, although
the first authentic description we have
of the interior of any wheel clock is
that Of one made by Henry de wyck,
a German, for Charles V. of France,
in 1879, which has been not in
aptly styled the "parent Of modern
time-keepers" since, except that
it had no pendulum and only an
hour hand, it was very ike in principle
the clocks Of the present day. 1t con-
sisted of train Of wheels driven by a
weight, and had vertical or verge es-
capement with vibrating balance, bu,
no spring; the balance, instead Of being
shaped like q fy-whesl, was in the form
of a 7, upon the two thin projecting
arms of which concentric notches wer,
cut. Two small regulating weights
we're suspended from the arms, ant
it was by shifting these from motel
to notch, or from the centre
that the clsck was made to g
faster or slower Is required. The dis
coysry Of the isochronism, or equalit,
Of time, Of the pendulum is attributes
! to Calico, who observed that : chaude
lier swinging in : church 1t Florence
Italy, performed the vibrations Of u