Clock (Mechanical)
InventorUnknown (European monks)
Year1270-1300
CategoryTimekeeping
OriginEurope
About Clock (Mechanical)
Mechanical clocks replaced water clocks and sundials for monastic prayer schedules. The verge-and-foliot mechanism was the first escapement. Accuracy improved from 15 minutes per day to seconds with the pendulum in 1656. Changed the concept of time from fluid to measurable.