The Longitude Problem - Improving Navigation with the Harrison Clocks

Today we take a look at one of the most vexing problems to face mariners in the Age of Sail, working out your longitude, and how a carpenter with a fascination for clocks helped to solve the issue.

Sources:

[Drachinifel]

Pinned post for Q&A :)

EDIT: The thumbnail originally said 'George Harrison' in error, this has been corrected to 'John Harrison', I also once get the names mixed up in the video.

[scottmanley]

Right at the end when stepping. Between the hemispheres you missed a more modern development. With the advent of GPS it’s been discovered that the meridian at Greenwich is about 300 feet wrong because the gravitational field isn’t perfectly vertical. All the telescopes were calibrated to this gravity vertical.

[KPen]

I find it hilarious that as a massive, unintended "SCREW YOU" to Masceline (or however its spelled) Harrison's Clocks which he hated so much are now a prime display in the Royal Observatory.

[lokiorin]

I love that this entire journey is Harrison repeatedly DOING THE THING and then saying "No... it's not perfect, let me try again."

[hughgordon]

The shenanigans in trying to deny Harrison his dues is another chapter altogether, and must of been heartbreaking? The pettiness of some of the judges was actually criminal😮

[steeltrap]

"Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time" (1995) by Dava Sobel is one of THE most remarkable reads, all the more astonishing because it's true. Harrison's trials and tribulations yet dogged brilliance make for a tale that, were it indeed a work of fiction, nobody would believe possible.
Can't recommend it highly enough. If you're GENUINELY interested by what you see in this video, READ THAT BOOK!

[trifidos]

George III was extremely annoyed with the board by the way they had treated John Harrison he advised Harrison to petition Parliament for the full prize after threatening to appear in person to dress them down.

[juicysushi]

This was a great story, well told! I can’t get the leap from H-3 to H-4 out of my head, though. Can you imagine the reaction of everyone who had been following and perhaps attempting to rival Harrison’s work when he suddenly unveiled an over-sized pocket watch that was beyond anything anyone else could even imagine, let alone make?

[marcusettling]

As a german watchmaker of course I know the story of John Harrison and I visited Greenwich a few years ago. Sadly H4 was in restauration back then.
But thanks a lot for this splendid video and your amazing skills of turning history into a great story. I like your videos very much and having this centerpiece of watchmaking history told by you really made me feel very happy.
Thank you. 🙏🏻

[timgosling]

When 40 years ago I arrived on my first front line RAF squadron we were still using the sextant to find our way when out of cover of radio nav aids and there was a master clock in flight planning so we could all synchronise our watches. One day a hand-written sign appeared taped above it: "The practice of setting this clock 15 seconds fast should either cease or be widely publicised". After that the accuracy of astro fixes improved instantly. Since the world rotates at 15.04 degrees per hour and one degree at the equator is 60 miles, that's up to 15 miles of error per minute. Tie in an aircraft flying at 6 miles a minute and it's no wonder the sums weren't working out!

[lukehanson]

When a random guy on the Internet makes a more thorough and informative (though less highly produced) video than PBS did back in the day, I call that societal progress.

Keep it up, Drach!

[neiloflongbeck]

As the song goes:

Cold falls the night,
Cold rolls the ocean
And colder blows the breath of fate
That sends the roaring gale.
The stars give their light
For duty or devotion,
But a sailor's heart needs more than prayer
When eye and compass fail
And more than hope to guide his lonely sail.

By sea and land John Harrison's hands
Made sure for ever more
That sailors could find longitude
To bring them safe ashore.

Your work was long,
Your days were driven.
You knew that you could build a clock
To marry space and time.
But your one great wrong
Was never forgiven -
For to be better than your betters
Was worse than any crime,
And their envy was a hill you would not climb.

By sea and land John Harrison's hands
Made sure for ever more
That sailors could find longitude
To bring them safe ashore.

And the prize of thirty thousand pounds
Was more than just a prize.
It was dignity and justice
Over bitterness and lies -
And the longer they denied you,
Attacked you and decried you,
The more you saw the weakness in their eyes.

How many lives,
How many talents,
Were tainted by the poisoned well
Of power from which they drank?
But the wind that drives
The bold topgallants
Was harnessed by a man with
Neither privilege nor rank,
And the sailor lads, they knew and gave their thanks.

[inTIMMYdator]

Drach youre going above and beyond with the addition of sound effects! I typically listen and hearing the waves and wood creaking makes it feel like im listening to a high quality audiobook

[johnsykesiii]

If YouTube videos were eligible, you deserve an Emmy Award for this video. Best YouTube video, ever!

[peterkoch]

Before the clocks of Harrison, the royal navy had financed astronomers to make tables of eclipses of the jupiter moons. With a good telescope and some luck with the weather, the captain of a ship could independently determine the time (and set the onboard clock). While this method was not good enough to cash in the 10000 pound price, it gave danish astronomer Ole Römer the idea, that it could be used to measure the speed of light and lo and behold, he came up with a rough estimate of 230.000 km/s.

[steeltrap]

That final scene of H2 happily working away was great, all the more so for me as by pure chance it happened that the long pendulum of my 'grandfather' clock in its roughly 7' 4" custom case was perfectly in synch, and it's barely 4' to the left of the widescreen TV I use for my computer screen. Mine's an early 20th century German action, but if you'll pardon the pun, it was really quite moving to see them gently working away on opposite sides of the planet when one considers what John Harrison went through so many years ago.
I would hope he'd be delighted by that fact.

[michaelimbesi]

Excellent video, Drach! It’s a shame that Maskelyne screwed over Harrison for so long. I never thought I’d say this as an American, but thank god George III intervened to do the right thing.

[todd.r.]

Brilliant Drach! As a fellow engineer I always felt the story of Longitude was a great one! Loved your take and the interactive elements you supplied. The treatment of John Harrison after constructing these brilliant devices at that time is appalling

[johnsykesiii]

Remembering the loss of HMS Hood, 82 years ago today (May 24, 1941). RIP to the souls lost that day.

[Raptor]

I can only imagine the captain, board members, and knowledgeable experts/sailors present in this whole situation being both in awe and jubilation at the fact that Harrison had actually done it (and done it really well), and that Harrison seemed to be readily able to IMPROVE and refine the design repeatedly.