Royal E
Robbins, for himself and the firm of Tracy & Baker, case makers of Philadelphia, who were creditors of the defunct company. After the failure of the Boston Watch Company, Mr. Howard returned to Roxbury and continued with his clock business in connection with Mr. Davis. In 1858 he again began manufacturing watches in the old factory of the Boston Company, in Roxbury, and placed on the market the first quick train movements ever made in this country. Even in those early days of American watchmaking, the Howard watches were noted for their superior qualities as time keepers, a reputation which followed them up to the present time. In 1861 the Howard Clock and Watch Company was organized with a capital of $120,000. In 1863 the name was changed to the Howard Watch and Clock Company and in 1881 it was again changed to the E. Howard Watch and Clock Company. In 1882 Mr. Howard severed his connection with the watch company and retired from all active business. Mr. Howard invented many labor saving devices in the horological line, among which may be mentioned the swing rest.
HUYGHENS, CHRISTIAN. A Dutch mathematician and author of a work on pendulums. He was born at the Hague on 14th of April, 1629. In 1665, Louis XIV. invited him to Paris for the purpose of founding a Royal Academy of Science. He resided in Paris from 1666 to 1681, when he returned to Holland. In the year 1656, he first conceived the idea of applying a pendulum to a clock, and at once set to work at his task. On the 16th of June, 1657, he presented to the States of Holland his first pendulum clock. In 1658 Adrian Ulaag, of the Hague, published for him in Dutch, a short description of this new clock. In 1673, finding that Vincent Galileo and others claimed the merit of the adaptation he authorized F. Muguet, of Paris to publish for him a valuable work entitled "Horologium oscillatorium, sive de motu pendulorum ad Horologia aptato," wherein he gave the construction of his clocks, with drawings, and the theory (useless in practice), of the cycloidal checks, as a means of rectifying the variations in the length of the arcs of vibration of the pendulum. Galileo claimed to have adapted a pendulum to a clock as early as 1649, but there appears to be no authority to be relied on, to prove his having done so. Dr. Hooke was another of the claimants for the honor of the first application of the pendulum to a clock, but Nelthropp, after reviewing the question says: But it may without much fear of contradiction be here asserted that to the careful searcher after truth, the following conclusions only can be arrived at. First--That credit ought to be given to Huyghens for being the first to apply the discovery of Galileo to a clock. 2nd. That Dr. Hooke can justly lay claim to having brought the whole matter to perfection by the invention of his anchor escapement, which enabled him to use a long pendulum with a heavy bob, thereby rendering the arcs of vibration shorter, and necessitating much less motive power.
Huyghens' clock is shown in Fig. 169. The upper part of the pendulum is a double cord hanging between two cyloidal checks, to give a cycloidal path to the bob. Fig. 170 gives a better idea of the device, which was no doubt of advantage with the long arcs required by the Verge Escapement. Another feature of Huyghens' clock is the maintaining power. The driving weight, P, Fig. 171, is supported by an endless cord passing over the pulley D, attached to the great wheel, and also over the pulley H, which is provided with ratchet teeth and pivoted to the inside of the clock case. The cord m is pulled down to wind the clock, and the ratchet wheel H then runs under its click. So that while winding, as in going, one-half of P minus one-half of p is driving the clock. The pulleys D and H are spiked to prevent slipping of the cord. When this ingenious maintaining power is applied to a clock with a striking train, the pulley with the ratchet is attached to the great wheel of the striking part, one weight thus serving to drive both trains. A chain is preferable to a cord, owing to the dust which accumulates in the clock through the wearing of the latter.