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Who invented the alarm clock?
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clocks
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inventions
voted interesting: bunnyphuphu M$0.25
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This, like most "who invented" questions, is subject to interpretation and endless argument. I disagree with the other two answers despite reading exactly the same sources.
You are asking who invented the alarm clock, not some town steeple clock or cuckoo clock, let alone medieval or ancient astrological devices.
What we now think of as an alarm clock, a clock you can put by your beside and set to wake you up in the morning, was patented by the Seth Thomas Clock Company in 1876. Specifically: "On October 24, 1876 a mechanical wind-up alarm clock that could be set for any time was patented (#183,725) by Seth E Thomas."
They quickly became popular in the USA and shortly thereafter in Germany.
I have one caveat. Having looked up and read the patent, I am unable to tell if it really was an alarm clock! It is certainly a small table clock, but I am trusting the other sources for it being an alarm because I can't make it out from the diagram and description.
You are asking who invented the alarm clock, not some town steeple clock or cuckoo clock, let alone medieval or ancient astrological devices.
What we now think of as an alarm clock, a clock you can put by your beside and set to wake you up in the morning, was patented by the Seth Thomas Clock Company in 1876. Specifically: "On October 24, 1876 a mechanical wind-up alarm clock that could be set for any time was patented (#183,725) by Seth E Thomas."
They quickly became popular in the USA and shortly thereafter in Germany.
I have one caveat. Having looked up and read the patent, I am unable to tell if it really was an alarm clock! It is certainly a small table clock, but I am trusting the other sources for it being an alarm because I can't make it out from the diagram and description.
source(s):
http://www.vintageclocksshop.com/
http://clockhistory.com/alarmClockHistory/index.html
http://www.google.com/patents?id=Y8NeAAAAEBAJ&printsec=drawing&zoom...
http://www.vintageclocksshop.com/
http://clockhistory.com/alarmClockHistory/index.html
http://www.google.com/patents?id=Y8NeAAAAEBAJ&printsec=drawing&zoom...
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You never let me down @albanian again thank you for your time and effort. Great job.
voted helpful: buddawiggi, philipy
The greeks were known to have a water operated clock that would fill till it hit a mechanical bird that whistled. A Chinese buddist monk named Yi Xing invented the striking clock in (683–727) The first mechanical alarm clock, that could be set to strike an alarm at any time by the owner was invented by Taqi al-Din, in 1559. Antoine Redier was the first to patent an alarm clock in
1847.
1847.
That answer is Copy and Pasted from your source. Please read Copy and Pasting on Mahalo AND the source given in the answer you sourced is copy and pasted directly from its source, the Wikipedia article.
@buddawiggi... We can only hope that the Wikipedia article wasn't plagiarised from somewhere else as welll... :)
This is copy and pasted. How do they match ? The first mechanical alarm clock was invented by Levi Hutchins, of New Hampshire, in the United States, in 1787. This device he made only for himself however, and it only rang at 4 AM, in order to wake him for his job. The French inventor Antoine Redier was the first to patent an adjustable mechanical alarm clock, in 1847.
@buttonpusher The source you cited in your answer from Here is an answer to this same "who invented the alarm clock" question posed on Yahoo answers. The person who answered that question on Yahoo Answers cited This Wikipedia article and their answer was copy pasted from that article.
What I'm trying to get is "Who actually invented the alarm clock", not just a copy/ paste of a copy/ paste.
Thank you for your answer and interest. :)
What I'm trying to get is "Who actually invented the alarm clock", not just a copy/ paste of a copy/ paste.
Thank you for your answer and interest. :)
I used the information from the source but I did not copy and paste from the source as per your statement. I understand what you are trying to get, but you said I copied and pasted from the source.
I'm just asking for folks to check their sources a bit better. I really do appreciate your efforts and interest. I hope you do not take offense to my statements, I mean no disrespect. I was just trying to help. :)
@buttonpusher... We expect people to check the reliability of their sources, and we expect them to do more than just change a few words.
Yahoo Answers is not a source to be treated as definitive! Not ever.
A quote from a good source is perfectly acceptable if it's put in quotation marks. But changing a few words around doesn't stop it being plagiarism.
There is a difference between original content and original text.
On Mahalo Answers, we don't just expect you to Google, take what you find and paraphrase it. We expect you to exercise judgement about the quality of the information you found, maybe evaluate different sources, and give a considered answer.
The way @albanian did on this question.
Yahoo Answers is not a source to be treated as definitive! Not ever.
A quote from a good source is perfectly acceptable if it's put in quotation marks. But changing a few words around doesn't stop it being plagiarism.
There is a difference between original content and original text.
On Mahalo Answers, we don't just expect you to Google, take what you find and paraphrase it. We expect you to exercise judgement about the quality of the information you found, maybe evaluate different sources, and give a considered answer.
The way @albanian did on this question.
@phillipy You mean like this?
8 hours ago
He's an actor who's appeared in a number of films and TV series, including a regular role in Chicago Hope.
But I'm sure you can Google him just as well as I can.
His filmography is on IMDB:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000916/
Helpful Answer? (0) (0) Tip philipy for this answer
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8 hours ago
He's an actor who's appeared in a number of films and TV series, including a regular role in Chicago Hope.
But I'm sure you can Google him just as well as I can.
His filmography is on IMDB:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000916/
Helpful Answer? (0) (0) Tip philipy for this answer
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It is not really known who invented the first alarm clock. A German wall clock is believed to the first alarm clock. It was 19 inches tall and needed to hang on the wall because it had a driving weight that needed room to fall. There are other clocks from the 1500's that are believed to be in existence. See the first book reference below.
A lantern clock from England, around 1620, has an alarm set disc on front of the dial. A longcase (grandfather) clock from around 1690 is documented, as is a 30 hour hanging timepiece alarm by Joseph Knibb.
As you can see above, it is incorrect to state that Levi Hutchins of Concord, New Hampshire invented the first alarm clock in 1787. His alarm clock was predated by the German and English ones mentioned above.
References
“The Clockwork Universe, German Clocks and Automata 1550 - 1650,” Maurice and Mayr, 1980, Smithsonian, Neale Watson Academic Publications, New York.
“Early English Clocks” by Dawson, Drover and Parkes, Antique Collectors Club, 1982,
A lantern clock from England, around 1620, has an alarm set disc on front of the dial. A longcase (grandfather) clock from around 1690 is documented, as is a 30 hour hanging timepiece alarm by Joseph Knibb.
As you can see above, it is incorrect to state that Levi Hutchins of Concord, New Hampshire invented the first alarm clock in 1787. His alarm clock was predated by the German and English ones mentioned above.
References
“The Clockwork Universe, German Clocks and Automata 1550 - 1650,” Maurice and Mayr, 1980, Smithsonian, Neale Watson Academic Publications, New York.
“Early English Clocks” by Dawson, Drover and Parkes, Antique Collectors Club, 1982,
voted helpful: buddawiggi
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