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A nautical chronometer made by Thomas Earnshaw (1749–1828), and once part of the equipment of HMS ''Beagle'', the ship that carried

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended ...

on his voyage around the world, is held in the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

. The chronometer was the subject of one episode of the

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series ''

A History of the World in 100 Objects ''A History of the World in 100 Objects'' was a joint project of BBC Radio 4 and the British Museum, consisting of a 100-part radio series written and presented by British Museum director Neil MacGregor. In 15-minute presentations broadcast on ...

''. Meticulous naval inventories show that HMS ''Beagle'' carried a total of at least 34 recorded chronometers on its three main survey voyages from 1826 to 1843, and 22 on the second voyage with Darwin on board, when they had a dedicated cabin. Some were Navy property and others were on loan from the manufacturers, as well as six on the second voyage owned by the captain,

Robert FitzRoy Vice-Admiral Robert FitzRoy (5 July 1805 – 30 April 1865) was an English officer of the Royal Navy and a scientist. He achieved lasting fame as the captain of during Charles Darwin's famous voyage, FitzRoy's second expedition to Tierra de ...

. Both the two known survivors from the second voyage are owned by the British Museum (the second is registration No. CAI.1743).

Background

Nautical chronometers were of great importance in the 18th and 19th centuries as aids to navigation. Accurate measurement of time was needed for the determination of longitude. Earnshaw was not the first to make such chronometers, but he was one of the first to make them cheaply enough that they started to become essential equipment for a ship at sea. By the time the ''Beagle'' set sail, it was being reported in ''

The Nautical Magazine ''The Nautical Magazine'' was a monthly magazine containing articles of general interest to seafarers. The magazine was first published in 1832 by Simpkin, Marshall, and Co. (London) as ''The Nautical Magazine: A Journal of Papers on Subjects C ...

'' that the price of chronometers was dropping rapidly while the same quality was being maintained. Earnshaws' chronometer had a novel escapement mechanism, the

spring detent escapement An escapement is a mechanical linkage in mechanical watches and clocks that gives impulses to the timekeeping element and periodically releases the gear train to move forward, advancing the clock's hands. The impulse action transfers energy t ...

, and a

bimetallic strip A bimetallic strip is used to convert a temperature change into mechanical displacement. The strip consists of two strips of different metals which expand at different rates as they are heated. The different expansions force the flat strip to be ...

for temperature compensation so that it would continue to maintain accuracy in all climates around the world.British Museum page on the object

''Beagles chronometers

The ''Beagle'' was sent in 1831 on a survey mission which involved circumnavigating the globe, a journey which lasted until 1836 and described by the naturalist on board the ship, Charles Darwin, in his book '' The Voyage of the Beagle''. It was on this journey that Darwin began forming the ideas published much later as ''

On the Origin of Species ''On the Origin of Species'' (or, more completely, ''On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life''),The book's full original title was ''On the Origin of Species by Me ...

''. The ''Beagle'' carried twenty-two chronometers, an unusually large number, but necessary to ensure accuracy of the survey. Three would have been commonplace on ships of the time, as this is the minimum number required to easily identify one that has gone faulty. The

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

started a general issue of chronometers to H. M. Ships from 1825, but between about 1800 and 1840 availability could not keep up with demand. The Admiralty therefore only issued one chronometer to each ship unless the Captain personally owned one. In those cases the Admiralty would issue another to take the total to three, reasoning that a ship with two was no better off than with one since a faulty instrument could not be identified. The ''Beagle'' however, would be gone for several years and was required to take chronometers ashore and in boat expeditions up rivers to determine the coordinates of specific reference points as instructed by the Admiralty. It could not be guaranteed that any one chronometer would continue to function accurately, or even survive the journey at all. Each chronometer was mounted on gimbals to keep it level in all sea conditions, and the whole assembly fixed inside a hinged wooden box for protection. For additional protection, they were stored in sawdust in a special cabin in the Captain's quarters. Only crew who needed to take measurements, or who maintained them, were allowed access, measures which indicate the importance attached to these instruments. The ''Beagle'' voyage succeeded, for the first time, in establishing a linked chain of reference points around the globe of known longitude which could be used by subsequent voyages to calibrate their own chronometers.Taylor, pp.34-35.

Maintenance and accuracy

The chronometers were maintained by an instrument maker, one George James Stebbing, whose salary was paid for personally by the captain of the vessel,

. FitzRoy considered the post to be essential to the mission but the Admiralty had refused to pay for it. FitzRoy bore the cost himself, as he did for much of the ship's equipment, but the Admiralty did concede that Stebbing could be fed from the ship's rations. This concession was not extended to Darwin, who paid £500 for his own keep. By using his chronometers to measure the time of local noon when he returned to his home port Fitzroy was able to measure the overall accuracy of the entire voyage. As he sailed west, local noon occurred progressively later, until finally, when he had circumnavigated the globe, the shift in local noon time, as measured by his chronometers should be exactly twenty-four hours. In fact, Fitzroy's measurements exceeded this by 33 seconds, which is equivalent to just . This was impressive for a journey of tens of thousands of miles over five years; nevertheless Fitzroy considered the error to be inexplicably large.

History

Thomas Earnshaw's ''Marine Chronometer No.509'' was manufactured around 1800 and served on a number of

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

ships.

William Edward Parry Sir William Edward Parry (19 December 1790 – 8 July 1855) was an Royal Navy officer and explorer best known for his 1819–1820 expedition through the Parry Channel, probably the most successful in the long quest for the Northwest Pas ...

while exploring

Baffin Bay Baffin Bay (Inuktitut: ''Saknirutiak Imanga''; kl, Avannaata Imaa; french: Baie de Baffin), located between Baffin Island and the west coast of Greenland, is defined by the International Hydrographic Organization as a marginal sea of the Arc ...

in July 1819 during his first attempt to find the

Northwest Passage The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The eastern route along the ...

mentions that Earnshaw's chronometer had been used in 1818 to determine the longitude of a spot to within of his own measurement. He does not, however, say which ship it was on board. At this early time, all Royal Navy purchased chronometers were issued by the

Greenwich Observatory The Royal Observatory, Greenwich (ROG; known as the Old Royal Observatory from 1957 to 1998, when the working Royal Greenwich Observatory, RGO, temporarily moved south from Greenwich to Herstmonceux) is an observatory situated on a hill in G ...

who also checked their rates and sent them out for cleaning between voyages. Initially, Greenwich issued chronometers directly to ships, but later, as chronometers became more common, they were sent from Greenwich to other Royal Navy ports and dockyards for issue locally. The first recorded issue from Greenwich was 3 July 1823 to Captain Frederick Marryat in command of HMS ''Larne''. ''Larne'' took part in the

First Anglo-Burmese War The First Anglo-Burmese War ( my, ပထမ အင်္ဂလိပ်-မြန်မာ စစ်; ; 5 March 1824 – 24 February 1826), also known as the First Burma War, was the first of three wars fought between the British and Burmes ...

which lasted from 1824 to 1826. The chronometer was returned to Greenwich 6 February 1826 and then sent to its makers for servicing. It did not come back to Greenwich for nearly two years. On 4 March 1828 it was issued to Captain J. Bolder in command of HMS ''Hecla''. At this time ''Hecla'' was a famous ship: under the command of George Francis Lyon she had been part of Parry's second expedition to find the Northwest Passage. Over 6,000 members of the public visited the ship at

Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, within the London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a Ford (crossing), ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century to the late 19th it was home ...

while she waited to set out on Parry's third expedition in 1824. The attempt ended in 1825 after the leading ship, HMS ''Fury'' was abandoned due to ice damage. Parry used ''Hecla'' again in an 1827 attempt to reach the North Pole. Parry unwillingly gave up ''Hecla'' when the admiralty sent her to survey the West African coast under the command of Bolder. In July 1830 the chronometer was returned from ''Hecla'' and went for cleaning to

Robert Molyneux Robert P. Molyneux (July 24, 1738 – December 9, 1808) was an English-American Catholic priest and Jesuit missionary to the United States. Born to a prominent English family, he entered the Society of Jesus and studied at the College o ...

in London. It was returned to Greenwich in November but not immediately issued to another ship.British Museum database 1958,1006.1957Greenwich ledger, p.165

Portsmouth and Devonport

In March 1831 the chronometer was delivered to Devonport where the rate was checked and recorded. On 6 December 1831 it was issued to Captain Stokes in command of HMS ''Beagle''. It sailed with Captain Fitzroy on ''Beagles famous second voyage and was returned to Greenwich 7 November 1836. After a period at Arnold and Dent for cleaning it was transported by HMS ''Lightning'' to Devonport or Portsmouth for issue to ships there. It was returned to Greenwich 17 November 1841 and after another service by Arnold and Dent was issued to HMS ''Formidable'' on 13 January 1842. It stayed with ''Formidable'' until 20 November 1845 when it was returned to Greenwich. It was then serviced by

Charles Frodsham Charles Frodsham (15 April 1810 – 11 January 1871) was a distinguished English horologist, establishing the firm of Charles Frodsham & Co, which remains in existence as the longest continuously trading firm of chronometer manufacturers in the ...

and sent for issue to ships at Portsmouth. It was transported back to Greenwich periodically by Royal Navy ships for service by Frodsham ( HMS ''Rattlesnake'' 11 March 1850, HMS ''Odin'' 27 December 1854) and finally returned from Portsmouth 7 May 1857. The final ship to be issued the chronometer was HMS ''Pembroke'' who received it 20 April 1858. ''Pembroke'' returned the chronometer to Greenwich 1 February 1867.

Use on shore

After serving on ''Pembroke'' the chronometer stayed with Frodsham for over six months. Greenwich issued it to the Meteorological Committee of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

on 25 November 1867. The Meteorological Committee used the chronometer for observations at Falmouth Observatory. It was returned to Greenwich on 3 November 1886 and sent to J Poole for servicing 22 November 1886. Poole returned the chronometer on 13 December 1886 declaring it to be beyond economic repair. It was given to E. Dent & Co. on 16 July 1888 in part exchange for the chronometer Dent 43107. It was later acquired by the private collector

Courtenay Adrian Ilbert Courtenay Adrian Ilbert (1888–1956), was a British civil engineer interested in horology, and a collector of watches. Ilbert lived for a time at 10 Milner Street, Chelsea, London, the old ground floor drawing room once housed the Ilbert Colle ...

. After his death in 1956, Ilbert's collection was put up for auction in 1958. The auction was cancelled, however, and the collection purchased by the

following a private donation of funds.

BBC Programme

The chronometer was object 91 in the

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC's ...

series ''

'', first broadcast 11 October 2010. The series was made in collaboration with the British Museum and was presented by Neil MacGregor, the Director of the British Museum. The specialist contributors to the chronometer episode were

Nigel Thrift Sir Nigel John Thrift (born 12 October 1949 in Bath) is a British academic and geographer. In 2018 he was appointed as Chair of the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management, a committee that gives independent scientific and technical advice ...

, the vice-chancellor of the

University of Warwick , mottoeng = Mind moves matter , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £7.0 million (2021) , budget = £698.2 million (2020 ...

, and

Steve Jones Steve or Steven Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Steve Jones (English presenter) (born 1945), English musician, disk jockey, television presenter, and voice-over artist * Steve Jones (musician) (born 1955), English rock and roll guita ...

, geneticist and television presenter. The programme discussed the search for longitude, the role chronometers played in this, Earnshaw's contributions to chronometer design, the voyage of the ''Beagle'', and the importance of the chronometers she carried.BBC page on the object.

References

Bibliography

"Ship's chronometer from HMS ''Beagle''"
The British Museum, retrieved 8 June 2010
archived 1 October 2010

"Marine chronometer"
British Museum database, object ID 1958,1006.1957, retrieved 1 January 2012
archived 1 January 2012

"Ship's chronometer from HMS Beagle"
''A History of the World'', BBC, retrieved 8 June 2010
archived 1 October 2010
*"Earnshaw No. 509", ''Ledger of Receipts and Issues of Chronometers'', pp. 165,1126, Greenwich Observatory. *
The Nautical Magazine
', vol.2, Brown, Son and Ferguson, 1833. * Frome, Edward Charles,
Outline of the method of conducting a trigonometrical survey, for the formation of geographical and topographical maps and plans: military reconnaissance, levelling, etc.
', J. Weale, 1850. *King, Philip Parker; Darwin, Charles; Fitzroy, Robert, ''Narrative of the Surveying Voyages of His Majesty's Ships Adventure and Beagle, Between the Years 1826 and 1836'' Appendix to Volume 2, p. 345, London: H. Colburn, 1839. *Macdonald, Fiona, ''Inside the Beagle with Charles Darwin'', Salariya Publishers, 2005 . *Mercer, Vaudrey, "The life and letters of Edward John Dent, chronometer maker, and some of his successors", ''Antiquarian Horological Society monograph'', no.13, Antiquarian Horological Society, 1977 *Nicholas, F. W.; Nicholas, Janice Mary, ''Charles Darwin in Australia'', Cambridge University Press, 2002 . * Parry, William Edward
''Journey of a Voyage for the Discovery of a North-West Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific''
London: John Murray, 1821. *Sobel, Dava; Andrewes, William J. H., ''The Illustrated Longitude'', Fourth Estate, 1998 . * Taylor, James, ''The Voyage of the Beagle: Darwin's Extraordinary Adventure in Fitzroy's Famous Survey Ship'', Anova Books, 2008 .

External links

Pocket chronometer used on board HMS ''Beagle''
''National Museum Australia''
archived 1 Jan 2012
{{British-Museum-100, 91, Jade bi with poem, Early Victorian tea set Horology Prehistory and Europe objects in the British Museum HMS Beagle Individual clocks in England