Researching John Arnold

John Arnold was the first to design a watch that was both practical and accurate, and also brought the term "chronometer" into use in its modern sense, meaning a precision timekeeper. His technical advances enabled the quantity production of marine chronometers for use on board ships from around 1782. The basic design of these has remained, with a few modifications unchanged until the late twentieth century. With regard to his legacy, one can say that both he and Abraham-Louis Breguet largely invented the modern mechanical watch. Certainly one of his most important inventions, the overcoil balance spring is still to be found in most mechanical wristwatches to this day.

It was from around 1770 that Arnold developed the portable precision timekeeper, almost from the point where John Harrison ended his work in this field. But, compared to Harrison's complicated and expensive watch, Arnold's basic design was simple whilst consistently accurate and mechanically reliable. Importantly, the relatively simple and conventional design of his movement facilitated its production in quantity at a reasonable price whilst also enabling easier maintenance and adjustment.

Three elements were necessary for this achievement:* A detached escapement, which gave minimal interference with the vibrating balance and balance spring* A balance design that enabled compensation for the effect of temperature on the balance spring* A method for adjusting the balance spring, so that the balance oscillates in equal time periods, even through different degrees of balance arc

Arnold was educated at Christ’s Hospital and Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. He was ordained in 1960 and was then a curate at Holy Trinity, Millhouses, Sheffield then chaplain and lecturer at the University of Southampton. From 1972 to 1978 he was secretary of the Board for Mission and Unity for the General Synod of the Church of England when he became Dean of Rochester. In 1989 he became Dean of Durham, a position he held until his retirement in 2002. 1986-1992 he was vice-president, 1992-1997 president of the Conference of European Churches. His papers are currently held at the archive of the Cambridge Center For Christianity World Wide.

He was born on June 4, 1834 in Masonville, Windham County, Connecticut.

His portraits of governors are located in the Rhode Island State House and other portraits are in the Brown University Portrait Collection. Arnold painted portraits of John Russell Bartlett, John Brown Francis, Reuben Guild, John Hay, John Pitman, Barnas Sears, Leonard Swain, James Mitchell Varnum, Sarah Helen Whitman, and Alva Woods, among others.

He published Art and Artists in Rhode Island in 1905. Arnold was also a member of the Providence Art Club from its founding in 1880 to his death in 1909.

He married his student, Clara L. Maxfield in 1908. At the time, he was 73 and she was 27. He died on May 31, 1909 and was buried in Providence, Rhode Island.