History Fact Finder | Science and Invention - When Was The Clock Introduced?

When was the clock introduced?

The first mechanical time-keeping device was a water clock known as a clepsydra, which dated back to about 1500 B.C. and was used until the end of the Middle Ages (A.D. c. 450–c. 1500). An elaborate clepsydra, which dropped a metal ball into a bowl every hour on the hour, was constructed for the Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne (742–814) in A.D. 800. Problems with this clock arose because of the inconsistent nature of water, which would evaporate and freeze, or would erode the surfaces of its container. The search for a more reliable time-keeping device led to the invention of a completely mechanical clock in 995 by a monk (member of a Roman Catholic religious order) named Gerbert (945–1003), who became Pope Sylvester II in 999. Gerbert's clock was driven by the slow pull of a falling weight that had to be reset to its starting position every few hours. After this invention clocks in...

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