Today in Technology History
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February 26
The man who started America's first clock factory died 150 years ago.
Eli Terry was born in 1772 in Connecticut, the first of ten children. He had little formal schooling and at age 14 began a series of apprenticeships to several clockmakers. He completed his first clock in 1792 and opened his own shop the next year.
Back then, clockmakers made their wares with hand tools, usually building only one or two clocks at a time. Terry decided to increase his production rate by driving his tools with water power. Despite the skepticism of his peers, by 1800 Terry was operating a water-powered factory. He and his apprentices could build up to twenty clocks at once.
After receiving a contract to make four thousand clocks, Terry sold his small factory and built a larger one with two business partners. Using Terry's mass-production techniques, it took just three years to complete the order. Once again, he sold his share of the business and moved on.
Terry spent the next four years trying to design a clock that was attractive but easy to build. After a great deal of experimentation, he settled upon a design made entirely of wood, with interchangeable parts. Thanks to some brilliant marketing, these clocks became all the rage. With the help of his sons, Terry built and sold more than 10,000 per year. He was soon a rich man.
Terry was married twice and fathered eleven children. He died on February 26, 1852, at the age of 79.
Related links:
Click here to read an excellent short biography of Terry.
Use these links to read more about Terry's marketing techniques and his reputation.
Click here to see a reproduction of Terry's most successful design.
Not long ago, we wrote about another clockmaker -- a contemporary of Terry -- who designed the "banjo clock." Click here to read that story.
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