History
The torsion pendulum was invented by Robert Leslie in 1793. The torsion pendulum clock was first invented and patented by American Aaron Crane in 1841. He made clocks that would run up to one year on a winding. He also attempted to make precision astronomical regulator clocks based on the torsion pendulum, but only sold four.
The German Anton Harder apparently independently invented and patented the torsion clock in 1879-1880. He was inspired by watching a hanging chandelier rotate after a servant had turned it to light the candles. He formed the firm Jahresuhrenfabrik ('Year Clock Factory') and designed a clock that would run for a year, but its accuracy was bad. He sold the patent in 1884 to F. A. L. deGruyter of Amsterdam, who allowed the patent to expire in 1887. Other firms entered the market, beginning the German mass production of these clocks.
Although they were successful commercially, torsion clocks remained poor timekeepers. In 1951, Charles Terwilliger of the Horolovar Co. invented a temperature compensating suspension spring, which allowed fairly accurate clocks to be made.
Read more about this topic: Torsion Pendulum Clock
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