Levi Hutchins of Concord, an American invented the first alarm clock in 1787. This alarm clock was designed in such a way that it rang only once i.e. at 4 a.m. He invented the clock so that he could wake up on time.
It was 29X14 inches and was made of pinewood with inner mechanisms of a big brass clock.
The alarm rang at a preset time, it couldn’t be reset, altered, or turned off. The alarm clock was created to follow his ‘firm rule’ to wake him before sunrise. He explained about his amazing device,
1. Where Was Levi Hutchins Born?
- A. Lancaster
- B. Hudson
- C. Berlin
- D. Harvard
“It was the idea of a clock that could sound an alarm that was difficult, not the execution of the idea. It was simplicity itself to arrange for the bell to sound at the predetermined hour.”
Alarm Clock History
Alarm clocks took many ways from analog to digital.
During the industrial revolution, the loud factory whistle made a noise that woke people who lived near factories.
After Hutchins’ discovery, Antoine Redier, a French inventor, became the first alarm clockmaker to invent an adjustable mechanical alarm clock in 1847.
In 1876, Seth E. Thomas created a wind-up clock which he patented in the United States. Thereafter the first electric clock was invented in 1890.
In the mid-1900s, many companies began to work and tried to find innovative portable alarm clocks and radio alarm clocks which helped consumers to wake up on time rather than forcing them with a bell.
During the Second World War, war workers tended to wake on time, as a result, both governments (the US and Britain) made sure alarm clocks were manufactured.
As the war began, old alarm clocks started to break moreover they started to look for more reliable alarm clocks and therefore the supply increased.
The snooze alarm clock was invented in 1956. It has a snooze button on the clock to stop or reset the time.
Next, the most advanced device is none other than the internet alarm clock that introduces a countdown timer or a stopwatch. The world clock is popular too and shows many statistics like population, births, deaths, deforestation, etc.
Though the designs of alarm clocks vary their purpose remains the same.