Warren A. Marrison | |
---|---|
Born | Warren Alvin Marrison
[1] 21 May 1896
Inverary, Ontario, Canada |
Died | 27 March 1980 Palo Verdes Estates, California
[2] | (aged 83)
Alma mater | Harvard University |
Known for | Quartz clock |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Horology |
Institutions | Bell Labs |
Warren A. Marrison (21 May 1896 – 27 March 1980) [2] was a Canadian engineer and inventor. Marrison was the co-inventor of the first Quartz clock in 1927. [3]
Marrison was born in Inverary, Frontenac county, Ontario. [2] He studied at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, where he was part of a new program in engineering physics. He graduated in 1920 with a bachelor's degree in physics engineering; [4] his studies were interrupted by World War I when he served in the Royal Flying Corps as a radio technician. [2]
Beginning in 1921, he studied at Harvard University, ultimately receiving a master's degree. [2] He worked at first for Western Electric in New York City, but moved to Bell Laboratories in New York beginning in 1925. [2]
At Bell Labs in New York, Marrison was working on frequency standards using quartz as a reference. It was in 1927 that he developed the first quartz clock while working with J.W. Horton. The clock used a block of crystal, stimulated by electricity, to produce pulses at a frequency of 50,000 cycles per second. [5] A submultiple controlled frequency generator then divided this down to a usable, regular pulse that drove a synchronous motor. [5] While this first version of the clock was crude; Morrison produced a more refined version in 1928. [2] A New York Times headline in October 1929 reported "Electrified Quartz Crystal Displaces Clock Pendulum". [6]
The invention would lead AT&T, the subsequent owners of Bell Labs, to develop a timepiece division called Frequency Control Products. [7] This would eventually become the company Vectron International. [7]
In 1947 Marrison was awarded a Gold Medal from the British Horological Institute. [8] In 1955 the Clockmakers Company awarded him the Tompion Medal. [2]
In 2011 Marrison was inducted into the Inventor's Hall of Fame. [9]