Dr John C. Taylor OBE FREng It's impossible to imagine a world without clocks, where we don’t know the exact time, and that is why horology has always fascinated me. Dr John C Taylor The creator of and driving force behind Clocktime digital museum is Dr John C Taylor OBE* FREng†. He is also Clocktime’s resident expert. Celebrated as one of Britain’s greatest and most prolific inventors, Dr Taylor is best known for inventing the cordless kettle; because he created the bi-metal thermostatic control that automatically switches off your electric kettle every time you make a cup of tea. To date, he holds upwards of 400 patents to his name, and Strix, one of his manufacturing ventures, has won four Queen’s Awards – three for Export and one for Innovation. In 2011, Dr Taylor was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, in recognition of his services to business and horology. Dr Taylor is a widely respected horologist. His passion for horology was inspired by watching his father fix clocks at the kitchen table and his experience of navigation as a pilot and sailor. It was Dr Taylor’s decision to pilot his own plane across the north magnetic pole to Japan that got him thinking about the challenges of navigating the oceans. This experience led Dr Taylor to the work of the early 18th century clockmaker John Harrison, who created the first accurate sea clock, thus achieving a horological breakthrough that changed the world. Harrison’s chronometer (sea clock) allowed the calculation of longitude at sea. For the first time, sailors could know exactly where they were and how far they had travelled along a particular route. Before Harrison solved ‘the problem of longitude’, ships regularly went off course and ran a much higher risk of deadly shipwreck or being lost at sea. Harrison is one of Dr Taylor’s heroes, and the interactive animation of Harrison’s Wooden Regulator Longcase, made in 1726, is part of the Clocktime website’s official launch. Over the past 20 years, Dr Taylor has lovingly amassed a world-class collection of early British clocks, watches and scientific instruments. Unusually for a private collector, he is passionate about sharing these treasures, and his love of horology, with the public. To this end, he has been producing exhibitions throughout the UK since the early 2000s. He has also been creating a comprehensive digital library of horological videos, images and animations, and ultimately, all of this digital content will be available to enjoy on Clocktime digital museum, a dynamic, educational resource celebrating the golden age of British clockmaking (a period of exceptional horological development that took place between 1500 and 1797). In addition to creating Clocktime digital museum, Dr Taylor also lectures on horology and expedition. He is also a celebrated clockmaker in his own right. In 2008, he unveiled the first of his Chronophage clock series. The series comprises four titanium sculptural clocks (so far). Dr Taylor’s design is an homage to John Harrison’s grasshopper escapement design. Each chronophage re-imagines Harrison’s 18th century escapement design as a time-eating creature mounted atop the clock’s streamlined framework with experimental digital display. The most famous of these technological marvels is the Corpus Christi Chronophage, which is permanently displayed at Corpus Christi College, University of Cambridge. It is installed in the façade of the College’s new library (also bearing Dr Taylor’s name), which faces King’s Parade. It is one of England’s most visited tourist attractions. Dr Taylor likes to keep things ‘interesting’. As a passionate environmentalist with an early interest in polar geology, he has a long history of expedition that has seen him exploring extreme environments all over the world but especially those of the polar regions. His favourite place on Earth is Antarctica, which he has visited multiple times, most recently in 2021. True to form, he is currently developing multiple design projects in addition to Clocktime digital museum. All these are sustainable and address environmentally specific needs. Dr Taylor is (and always has been) insatiably curious about how things are made and has an innate talent for identifying and solving problems. His success as an inventor, a designer, an entrepreneur and a philanthropist is driven by his desire to leave the world a better and more interesting place. You can learn more about Dr Taylor, here. * Order of the British Empire. † Fellow of the Royal Society of Engineering
