Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-07-08
ORIGIN OF TOWER CLOCKS
How One of First in Europe Was
Named After Great Swedish Chemist

From the Revue international dHorlogerte
At what time may tower clocks for the
use OF the public at large have been in
troduced?"
This Is question which has often been
asked by many horologists, among them
Hainaut of Rouen, In France. but has
never been satisfactorily answered
This much, however, seems to be admit
ted, that public clocks were first intro
duced by the Arabs In Germany And the
first clock OF this kind was set I'D in
Paris in the town hall, or court of Justice
at the instance of Charles V. who had
ordered 1T to be made by a German artist
named Henri de Vic, who completed IT in
the year 1870.
But 1t was only few years later when
Norman. Jehan de Felains made an
other clock of this kind. which was SET
up at Rouen, and this one was remark
able. owing to the fact that ii struck
quarters. 1t may be mentioned in this
connection that the clock made by Jehan
de Felains must have been a superior one.
because 1t continued to render service
for century after the one made by
Henri de Vic had disappeared. Still we
have an accurate and a detailed descrip-
ton of the latter furnished by Monet in
the first chapter of his Theological trea-
tise, as stated by Julien Leroy in his
memoranda.
From this description we learn that
from the earliest time this style of clock
has hardly undergone any radical change
In It's elementary construction, except in
sc far as the trains, both going and strik-
ing, were placed in their frames verti-
cally, lie, one wheel above the other
while at the present time the placing of
the trains is done on a horizontal frame
which means side by side. The escape
ment, which was placed above the frame
is said to have been foiiot; hence one
may infer that it was the former verge
escapement which was later superseded
by the pin eScapement, which was more
simple and handy and more adapted to a
good timekeeper. All the parts of these
early clocks were made of iron, instead
OF which modern clockmakers use bronze
brass, steel and castings, when such can
be employed with advantage. From the
standpoint OF the employment of general
mechanical principles very few innova-
lions are noticed.
The question has often been mooted
whether this specimen of the Theological
art is the original clock of Sorbonne of
Richelieus time, or, as has been claimed
by many, the one put in its place by Le-
pante, who might have been the maker of
a more modern substitute. The clock
frame and the parts composing the clock
of the Polytechnic School, obsolete, was
christened Berzelius This great Swedish
chemist, who taught at the school, had
the habit of repeating each year the clas-
sic demonstration of asphyxiating some
live bird under the globe of the pneu-
matte machine.
During the appointed day sparrow
condemned to show the effects of an air
vacuum had been placed on the fatal disk
of the instrument when n cry of pity was
raised by the scholars in the birds favor.
At their solicitations Berzelius suspended
the experiment and restored the bird to
liberty and it soon revived and took
flight. The next day after this memorable
one the sparrow. or, more likely, one of
it's kind, perched upon one of the hands
of the clock and remained there. This oc-
currence happened during recess, which
was prolonged until some one noticed the
stoppage of the clock
1t was universally asserted by credu-
lous persons that this extraordinary phe-
nomenon was a positive manifestation of
the gratitude of the little sparrow. But
as he neither left his card nor his name
IL was decided that the professor should
lend his for the occasion, and II was ap-
propriated without his consent. 1t was
in this manner that the illustrious Swede
was compelled, without Knowing IT, TO
lend his name for concentrating
tower clock.