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In Song China, an astronomical clock tower was designed by Su Song and erected at Kaifeng in 1088. It featured a liquid escapement mechanism.
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First mechanical clock makers appeared in England.
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In 1504, the first portable (but not very accurate) timepiece was invented in Nuremberg, Germany by Peter Henlein.
The first reported person to actually wear a watch on the wrist was the French mathematician and philosopher, Blaise Pascal (1623-1662). With a piece of string, he attached his pocket watch to his wrist. -
In 1577, Jost Burgi invented the minute hand. Burgi's invention was part of a clock made for Tycho Brahe, an astronomer who needed an accurate clock for his stargazing.
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An early prototype of the alarm clock was invented by the Greeks around 250 BC. The Greeks built a water clock where the raising waters would both keep time and eventually hit a mechanical bird that triggered an alarming whistle.
The first mechanical alarm clock was invented by Levi Hutchins of Concord, New Hampshire, in 1787.
However, the ringing bell alarm on his clock could ring only at 4 am. -
On October 24, 1876 a mechanical wind-up alarm clock that could be set for any time was patented by Seth E Thomas.
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The Warren Clock Company was formed in 1912 by Mr. Henry Warren as President. The company started by producing a new type of clock run by batteries, prior to that, clocks were either wound or run by weights.
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Swiss John Harwood invented the self-winding watch in 1923.
