- Jerome, Chauncey
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died April 20, 1868, New Haven, Conn.U.S. inventor and clockmaker.In 1824 he designed a popular bronze looking-glass clock, and he formed a company that soon became the leading U.S. clockmaker. He invented the one-day brass movement, an improvement over the wood clock. Applying mass-production techniques, he flooded the U.S. with low-priced brass clocks, which quickly spread to Europe and so astonished the English that "Yankee ingenuity" became a byword.
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▪ American inventorborn June 10, 1793, Canaan, Conn., U.S.died April 20, 1868, New Haven, Conn.American inventor and clock maker whose products enjoyed widespread popularity in the mid-19th century.Learning the carpenter's trade early in life, Jerome was employed as a case maker in 1816 by Eli Terry (Terry, Eli), a clock maker at Plymouth, Conn. Later Jerome started his own business, selling clocks with his cases fitted with movements supplied by other makers. The bronze looking-glass clock case he designed in 1827 became especially popular; he then formed a company that soon became the leader in clock production, with the main plant located at Bristol, Conn.About 1838 Jerome invented the one-day brass movement, an improvement in durability over the wood movement in a clock. Applying mass-production techniques, Jerome flooded the United States with low-priced brass clocks. His clocks quickly spread to Europe and so astonished the English that “Yankee ingenuity” became a byword.In the 1850s Jerome became associated with unethical businessmen, and his company failed in 1855; he died in relative poverty.Jonathan D. Betts* * *
Universalium. 2010.
