Graham, George

George Graham was born on July 7, 1673 in Horsgill (Cumberland, England) and died on 16 November 1751 in London. After seven years of apprenticeship with Henry Aske in London Graham worked from 1695 at Thomas Tompion, the “father of the English clockmakers”. He married Elisabeth Tompion, a niece of Tompion, and in 1711 became his partner.

George Graham was a member of the “Clockmakers Company”. In 1721 he was accepted as a member (“Fellow”) of the Royal Society.

George Graham was one of the greatest watchmakers of all time. A number of important inventions are attributed to him. Among them

• 1715 the first dead-beat lever escapement for pendulum clocks, known as Graham escapement. The Graham escapement replaced the spindle escapement, since it brought significant benefits. Even today it is found in good watches.
• Between 1715 and 1726 he developed the mercury compensation pendulum.
• 1720 Cylinder escapement based on the anchor escapement invented by Tompion.
• 1726 Clock pendulum with mercury-expansion vessel for the compensation of temperature influence.
• 1727 Zenith Telescope, used by James Bradley (aberration).

Graham also had excellent knowledge in astronomy.