Time tellers

The following are some landmarks in the history of telling the time.
1500-1300BC
Sundials are used in Egypt: as the Earth rotates, the gnomon - the upright part of the sundial - casts a shadow which moves to indicate the time.

c 400 BC
Water clocks are used in Greece: as water drains from a container, each level it reaches represents a period of time.

c 890
In England people use candles marked with time intervals.

12th century
The hourglass, familiar to us as an eggtimer, is used by monks to show times of prayer.

1325
The first clock with a dial is installed in Norwich Cathedral, England.

1335
The first clock to strike the hours is made in Milan, Italy.

1350
The oldest known surviving alarm clock is made in Wurzburg, Germany.

1364
Clocks are first used in people's homes.

1386
Salisbury Cathedral's clock is installed. This is the world's oldest clock in working order.

1462
The earliest descrition of a watch is written in Italy.

1641
The idea of the pendulum clock is proposed by Vincenzio Galilei, son of the famous astronomer Galileo.

1657
The first pendulum clocks are made in Holland.

c 1665
The first watches with minute and second hands are made.

1759
John Harrison's marine chronometer is made. Accurate timekeeping at sea is important for calculating position, but previously the rolling of a ship had made it impossible.

1880
Greenwich Mean Time becomes the standard from which time around the world is set.

1880
The first practical wristwatches are made for the German navy.

1928
The first quartz crystal clock is made.

1949
The first atomic clock is built.

1957
The first battery watches are marketed in the USA.

1969
Quartz wristwatches are first sold in Japan.

1970
Digital wathces and displays become widely used and can be made and sold cheaply.

2006
40 radio clocks around the world transmit signals that enable people to set their clocks and watches accurately.