Feature Science & Society

A brief history of timekeeping

Humans’ concept of time has evolved with our ability to track it

marine chronometer

John Harrison’s marine chronometer eventually won the British government’s prize for determining longitude at sea. An earlier version, ca. 1735, is shown here. 

© National Maritime Museum, London

By Teresa Shipley Feldhausen

- More than 2 years ago

For millennia, humans have harnessed the power of clocks to schedule prayers, guide ocean voyages and, lately, to chart the universe.