The longitude problem that baffled astronomers was solved by a self-taught carpenter.
John Harrison built precise sea clocks, but had to fight for the 1714 prize until he was almost 80.
More amazing facts
- 1712 Sweden once had a 30 February.
- 1712 · 1853 Britain taxed soap for nearly a century and a half.
- 1712 In the row over who invented calculus, Newton secretly wrote the verdict himself.
- 1712 · 1769 James Watt did not invent the steam engine: Newcomen engines had been pumping mines since 1712.
- 1716 · 1718 History's most famous pirate was a pirate for only about two years.
- 1717 George I liked Handel's Water Music so much he had it played three times in a row. In July 1717 some 50 musicians performed it on a barge following the king along the Thames.