page_title: Thomas Voigt
section_title: Legacy
hierarchical_section_title: Thomas Voigt / Legacy
caption_attribution_description: English: The Ohio Clock defines the time of President-elect and Mrs. Donald J. Trump’s departure from a visit with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) at the U. S. Capitol November 10, 2016. (Photo excerpt from a Fox News broadcast of the event)
context_page_description: Thomas Voigt was an American clockmaker. He apprenticed under his father, Henry Voigt, an American Revolution era clockmaker and inventor 1,2,3 and became a renowned clockmaker. He built clocks that have withstood the test of time and become emblems of U. S. history and national longevity.
context_section_description: The Astronomical Case Clock survived being transported from Jefferson's Charlottesville Virginia home, Monticello, to Dunglison's home to the Pennsylvania Historical Society and, finally, its return to Monticello. Its survival as an icon of American history and a major furnishing of President Jefferson's private study was enabled by the knowledge and devotion to authenticity of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation. They shared their knowledge of the Astronomical Case Clock with this article's authors after a visit to Monticello in 2004.
  From 1819 to the present day, The Ohio Clock has survived U. S. Senate filibusters; impassioned debates; a physical attack on US Senator Charles Sumner (R-MA) in the Senate chamber on May 22, 1856; the US Civil War; two World Wars; and a bomb explosion in 1983. The Ohio Clock’s glass was broken by the 1983 bomb blast, but was quickly repaired and restored to service. Hundred of Senate visitors observe The Ohio Clock each day including Senators, and Senate employees such as former Senate Page David Watson.
  During the shutdown of the U. S. Government in 2013, the U. S. Senate employees tasked with maintaining and winding The Ohio Clock were furloughed. The Ohio Clock stopped keeping time during this period. Its stopped status was recorded on national television programs such as Face The Nation, CBS Evening News, and NBC Nightly News to showcase the 2013 government shutdown. When U. S. Senate employees returned to service, the Ohio Clock was reset and its timekeeping operation resumed.
  A few days after the November, 2016 election, U. S. Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell invited President–elect Donald Trump to the U. S. Senate for a luncheon meeting. The news media captured Donald and Melania Trump with McConnell near the Senate chambers with The Ohio Clock.  
  Although turbulence and violence have occurred near The Ohio Clock, it has stood for over 200 years as it stands today - an important symbol of our country's stability, and the longevity of one of its major democratic institutions – the U. S. Senate.
  Today, Thomas Voigt and his wife Maria Kessler Voigt reside in a plot near his parents and other family members in Laurel Hill National Park in Philadelphia, PA. In addition to his two most famous clocks, Voigt built many other clocks for customers and family members. At least one of these has survived to this day and resides with a descendant family member.
caption: The Ohio Clock defines the time of President-elect and Mrs. Donald J. Trump's departure from a visit with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) at the U. S. Capitol November 10, 2016. (Photo excerpt from a Fox News broadcast of the event)
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