Horology
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Horology is the study of the science and art of timekeeping devices. Clocks, watches, and marine chronometers are examples of instruments used to measure time. The name of the study is derived from the Latin word hora, meaning "hour" but can be taken to mean "time" or season. (Horae) [1] [2] [3]
People interested in horology are called horologists. That term is used both by people who deal professionally with timekeeping apparatus (watchmakers, clockmakers), as well as aficionados and scholars of horology. Horology and horologists have numerous organisations, both professional associations and more scholarly societies.
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[edit] Horological libraries
Horology has a long history and there are many museums and several specialised libraries devoted to the subject. An example is the Royal Greenwich Observatory, which is also the source of the Prime Meridian (longitude 0° 0' 0"), and the home of the first marine timekeepers accurate enough to determine longitude (made by John Harrison). One of the more comprehensive museums dedicated to horology is the Musée international d'horlogerie in La Chaux-de-Fonds (Switzerland). One of the better horological museums in Germany is the Deutsches Uhrenmuseum. The two leading specialised horological museums in North America are the National Watch and Clock Museum in Columbia, Pennsylvania, and the American Clock and Watch Museum in Bristol, Connecticut.
One of the most comprehensive horological libraries open to the public is the National Watch and Clock Library in Columbia, PA (USA).
[edit] Horological organizations
The leading scholarly horological organisations for non-professionals are:
- Antiquarian Horological Society - AHS (United Kingdom)
- Association Française des Amateurs d'Horlogerie Ancienne - AFAHA (France)
- British Horological Institute - BHI (United Kingdom)
- Chronometrophilia (Switzerland)
- Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Chronometrie - DGC (Germany)
- HORA Associazione Italiana Cultori di Orologeria Antica (Italy)
- National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors - NAWCC (United States of America)
[edit] See also
Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
[edit] People
- Abraham Louis Bréguet
- Aaron Lufkin Dennison
- Rupert Gould
- John Harrison
- Bruce Alvin Kock
- Jens Olsen
- Richard of Wallingford
- Simon Willard
[edit] Professions
[edit] Museums (dedicated to horology)
- American Clock and Watch Museum, Bristol, Connecticut, USA
- British Horological Institute, Upton UK
- Clockmakers' Museum, London, UK
- Deutsches Uhrenmuseum, Furtwangen im Schwarzwald, Germany
- House of Clocks, the, Chicago, Illinois, USA
- Museum fũr Uhren und Mechanische Music, Oberhofen am Thunersee, Switzerland
- Musée d'Horlogerie du Locle, Le Locle, Switzerland
- Musée international d'horlogerie, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland
- National Watch and Clock Museum, Columbia, Pennsylvania, USA
- Royal Observatory, Greenwich, UK
- Städtisches Uhrenmuseum,Schulhof Wien, Austria
- Sydney Horological Centre, Sydney, Australia
- Uhrenindustriemuseum, Villingen-Schwenningen, Germany
- Uhrenmuseum Bayer, Zurich, Switzerland
- Willard House and Clock Museum, Grafton, Massachusetts, USA
- Irish Swiss Institute of Horology, Dublin
[edit] Museums (not specialized in horology, but displaying major horological collections)
- Boerhaave Museum, Leiden, Netherlands
- British Museum, London, UK
- Deutsches Museum, Munchen, Germany
- Frick Collection, New York City, USA
- Metropolitan Museum, New York City, USA
- Musée des Arts et Métiers, Paris, France
- Science Museum (London), UK
- Wallace Collection, London, UK
- St Edmundsbury Heritage Service , Bury St Edmunds UK
[edit] Institutions
- American Watchmakers-Clockmakers Institute, USA
- Antiquarian Horological Society, UK
- British Horological Institute, UK
- Chronometrophilia, Switzerland
- Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Chronometrie, Germany
- NAWCC, USA
- National Watch and Clock Library, USA
- Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry FH, Switzerland
- Canadian Horological Society, Canada
[edit] Newsgroup
[edit] Others
[edit] External links
- American Watchmakers-Clockmakers Institute
- BHI - The British Horological Institute
- Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry FH
- Musée d'horlogerie du Locle (Château des Monts)
- Musée International d'Horlogerie
- NAWCC: National Association of Watch & Clocks Collectors (USA)
- NAWCC - Horological Science Chapter
- Horology Patents
- NAWCC Internet Chapter 185
- The Horology Source
- A Rudimentary Treatise on Clocks, Watches and Bells by Edmund Beckett, 1st Baron Grimthorpe, 1903, from project Gutenbergcy:Horologiaeth
fr:Horlogerie pt:Horologia ru:Хорология ur:ساعتیات
