Postage stamp. Great Britain. Queen Elizabeth II. Millennium Series. The Inventors' Tale. Greenwich Meridian and Clock (John Harrison's Chronometer).
John Harrison (3 April [ 24 March] 1693 – 24 March 1776) was a self-educated English carpenter and clockmaker who invented the marine chronometer, a long-sought-after device for solving the problem of calculating longitude while at sea. Harrison's solution revolutionized navigation and greatly increased the safety of long-distance sea travel. The problem he solved was considered so important following the Scilly naval disaster of 1707 that the British Parliament offered financial rewards of up to £20,000 (equivalent to £ million in 2019) under the 1714 Longitude Act. In 1730, Harrison presented his first design, and worked over many years on improved designs, making several advances in time-keeping technology, finally turning to what were called sea watches. Harrison gained support from the Longitude Board in building and testing his designs. Toward the end of his life, he received recognition and a reward from Parliament. Harrison came 39th in the BBC's 2002 public poll of the 100 Greatest Britons. The stamp was designed by David William Gentleman (born 11 March 1930) who is an English artist. He studied illustration at the Royal College of Art under Edward Bawden and John Nash. He has worked in watercolour, lithography and wood engraving, at scales ranging from platform-length murals for Charing Cross Underground Station in London to postage stamps and logos. His themes include paintings of landscape and environmental posters to drawings of street life and protest placards. He has written and illustrated many books, mostly about countries and cities. He also designed a number of British commemorative postage stamps.
Size: 3000px × 2889px
Photo credit: © Stan Pritchard / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 1999, 20p, artist, britain, chronometer, clock, commemorative, david, design, designer, elizabeth, gentleman, great, greenwich, harrison, ii, inventor, inventors, john, longitude, mail, marine, meridian, millenium, navigation, postage, queen, royal, sea, series, stamp, tale, travel
