Edward Daniel Johnson (30 September 1815 – 8 March 1889) was a respected London

watch A watch is a portable timepiece intended to be carried or worn by a person. It is designed to keep a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is designed to be worn around the wrist, attached by ...

and

marine chronometer A marine chronometer is a precision timepiece that is carried on a ship and employed in the determination of the ship's position by celestial navigation. It is used to determine longitude by comparing Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), or in the modern ...

maker. He was a founder member and vice President of the

British Horological Institute The British Horological Institute (BHI) is the representative body of the horological industry in the United Kingdom. It was founded by a group of clockmakers in 1858, and has its current premises at Upton Hall in Nottinghamshire, which includes ...

, which was formed in June 1858. Movement of a Pocket Watch by E D Johnson

During his early career he worked out of Ashley Crescent in Shoreditch. Watches from this period (c. 1849–1855) show the address as "21 Ashley Crescent, City Road, London" inscribed on the

movement Movement may refer to: Common uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Motion, commonly referred to as movement Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...

. In 1855 he moved to 9 Wilmington Square, Clerkenwell where he produced the majority of his work. It was during this period that Johnson was involved with the founding of the British Horological Institute. Johnson was granted the

Freedom of the City of London The Freedom of the City of London started around 1237 as the status of a 'free man' or 'citizen', protected by the charter of the City of London and not under the jurisdiction of a feudal lord. In the Middle Ages, this developed into a freedom or ...

on 17 January 1860 by Redemption in the Company of Clockmakers. He was elected a fellow of the

Royal Astronomical Society (Whatever shines should be observed) , predecessor = , successor = , formation = , founder = , extinction = , merger = , merged = , type = NGO ...

on 10 May 1861. In June 1873 the British Horological Institute ran an essay competition, sponsored by Baroness

Burdett-Coutts Angela Georgina Burdett-Coutts, 1st Baroness Burdett-Coutts (21 April 1814 – 30 December 1906), born Angela Georgina Burdett, was a British philanthropist, the daughter of Sir Francis Burdett, 5th Baronet and Sophia, formerly Coutts, daughte ...

. Johnson was involved with this, the title of which was "The Compensation Balance and its Adjustment in Chronometers and Watches".Middleton, Alan. ''E D Johnson, BHI Founding Member (2).'' British Horological Journal, Dec 2007, Vol. 149, issue 12, p. 486-489 From 1875 the company was listed as "Edward Daniel Johnson & Son". Two of his sons worked in the watch manufacturing industry—Edward Henry and William George. The 'son' is believed to refer to Edward given that he lived at 10 Wilmington Square, which was inscribed on E. D. Johnson watch movements at this time. Johnson retired in 1879 by which time he was almost totally blind.

References

External links

* British & Irish Clock and Watch Maker

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Edward Daniel 1816 births 1889 deaths English watchmakers (people) English clockmakers English inventors Fellows of the Royal Astronomical Society People from Shoreditch