John Ellicott (London, 1706–1772), was an eminent English clock and watchmaker of the 18th century. His father, a Cornishman, John Ellicott (-1733), was also a clockmaker and had been admitted to the

Clockmakers' Company The Worshipful Company of Clockmakers was established under a royal charter granted by Charles I of England, King Charles I in 1631. It ranks sixty-first among the livery companies of the City of London, and comes under the jurisdiction of the ...

in 1696. John Ellicott (jnr) conducted business first from Austin Friars Street EC2 and later from Swithin’s Alley, Royal Exchange, and in 1738 was elected

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

. He showed a keen interest in scientific matters and maintained an observatory at his home in Hackney. He was best known for his work on temperature compensated pendulums and his use of the

cylinder escapement An escapement is a mechanical linkage in mechanical watches and clocks that gives impulses to the timekeeping element and periodically releases the gear train to move forward, advancing the clock's hands. The impulse action transfers energy to ...

. His quality workmanship led to an appointment as Clockmaker to

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

. His son Edward (-1791), joined the business in 1760. Over their twelve-year partnership, their clocks were simply signed ''Ellicott, London''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellicott, John 1706 births 1772 deaths English clockmakers Fellows of the Royal Society English watchmakers (people)