It's About Time
A Talk on the history of John Harrison
Hampstead Community Centre
78 Hampstead High Street, London, NW3 1RE- Dates & times
Thu 26 Mar 2026, 6.00pm - 9.00pm
- Description
Jonathan Betts MBE FSA FAHS FIIC FRSA served as Senior Curator of Horology at the Royal Observatory Greenwich (part of Royal Museums Greenwich) and Lester Hillman who has led local astronomy initiatives and has guided themed walks as well as lectured and written on time and the calendar, Lester has travelled to historic sites around the world including Venus Point in the Pacific will lead a memorial to the burial site of John Harrison followed by a talk on his achievements in historical timekeeping technology. Most importantly his creation of the first practical marine timekeeper for finding longitude at sea, but which was also the first of all portable precision timekeepers. His experimental journey in designing accurate portable timekeepers in the 18th century resulted in a series of iconic and fascinating machines which are today arguably the most important horological mechanisms in history.
- Activity Type
- Events