Grimthorpe, Edmund Beckett, 1st Baron

Grimthorpe, Edmund Beckett, 1st Baron

▪ British horologist
in full  Edmund Beckett, 1st Baron Grimthorpe of Grimthorpe , also called (until 1874)  Edmund Beckett Denison  or  Sir Edmund Beckett, 5th Baronet 
born May 12, 1816, Carlton Hall, near Newark-upon-Trent, Nottinghamshire, Eng.
died April 29, 1905, St. Albans, Hertfordshire

      English lawyer and horologist notorious in his day for his disputatious demeanour but now better remembered as the designer of the highly accurate regulator incorporated in the clock in St. Stephen's Tower of the British Houses of Parliament, known colloquially as Big Ben.

      Denison was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, and was called to the bar in 1841. He practiced law for the succeeding four decades, amassing a considerable fortune and establishing a formidable reputation, more for his abrasive courtroom tactics than for his legal expertise. Throughout this period and later, he took part in acrimonious controversies on theological, architectural, and scientific topics. He contributed to, or meddled in, the construction or restoration of several public buildings.

      A Rudimentary Treatise on Clocks, Watches, and Bells (1850) demonstrated his competence in horology and under various titles passed through eight editions. In 1851, in association with Sir George Airy (Airy, Sir George Biddell) (then astronomer royal) and the clock maker Edward John Dent (Dent, Edward John), Denison undertook the design of the clock for the tower of the Houses of Parliament; Denison's principal contribution was a novel gravity escapement that imparted unprecedented accuracy to the clock. This project, like many others, was the occasion of numerous polemics; one of these culminated in a suit for libel, brought against Denison by Whitechapel Bell Foundry, the makers of the clock's great bell, and settled out of court. During his career, Denison took part in the design of more than 40 big clocks, including that in St. Paul's Cathedral (Saint Paul's Cathedral) in London.

      When he succeeded to his father's baronetcy in 1874, he dropped the surname Denison and styled himself Sir Edmund Beckett until, upon his elevation to the barony in 1886, he became Lord Grimthorpe.

Jonathan D. Betts
 

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Edmund Beckett, 1st Baron Grimthorpe — Edmund Beckett, 1st Baron Grimthorpe, Q.C. (12 May, 1816 – 29 April, 1905), known previously as Sir Edmund Beckett, 5th Baronet and Edmund Beckett Denison was a lawyer, amateur horologist, and architect. In 1851 he designed the mechanism for the… …   Wikipedia

  • Edmund Beckett Denison — may refer to: *Sir Edmund Beckett, 4th Baronet (1787 1874), who was known by this name 1816 1872 *Edmund Beckett, 1st Baron Grimthorpe (1816 1905), son of the above, earlier known as Sir Edmund Beckett, 5th Baronet, lawyer and architect …   Wikipedia

  • Edmund Beckett — may refer to:*Edmund Beckett Denison *Edmund Beckett, 1st Baron Grimthorpe (1816 – 1905) lawyer *Sir Edmund Beckett, 4th Baronet (1787 – 1874), Conservative MP …   Wikipedia

  • Ernest Beckett, 2nd Baron Grimthorpe — Ernest William Beckett, 2nd Baron Grimthorpe (25 November 1856 ndash; 29 April 1917), was a British peer and Conservative Member of Parliament.Grimthorpe was the eldest son of William Beckett, younger son of Sir Edmund Beckett, 4th Baronet.… …   Wikipedia

  • Baron Grimthorpe — Baron Grimthorpe, of Grimthorpe in the East Riding of the County of York, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1886 for the lawyer and architect Sir Edmund Beckett, 5th Baronet, of Leeds, with remainder to the heirs… …   Wikipedia

  • Beckett — may refer to: NOTOC People * Arthur William à Beckett (1844–1909), English journalist and man of letters * Christopher Beckett, 4th Baron Grimthorpe (1915–2003) * Edmund Beckett, 1st Baron Grimthorpe (1816–1905) * Sir Edmund Beckett, 4th Baronet… …   Wikipedia

  • Sir John Beckett, 2nd Baronet — Sir John Beckett, 2nd Baronet, PC, FRS (17 May 1775 – 31 May, 1847), was a British lawyer and Tory politician.Beckett was the son of Sir John Beckett, 1st Baronet (1743–1826), and his wife Mary, daughter of Christopher Wilson. He was also a… …   Wikipedia

  • Big Ben — the bell in the clock tower of the Houses of Parliament in London, England. [1890 95] * * * Clock designed by Sir Edmund Beckett (1816–1905), housed in the tower at the eastern end of Britain s Houses of Parliament. Big Ben is famous for its… …   Universalium

  • clock — clock1 /klok/, n. 1. an instrument for measuring and recording time, esp. by mechanical means, usually with hands or changing numbers to indicate the hour and minute: not designed to be worn or carried about. 2. See time clock. 3. a meter or… …   Universalium

  • List of Old Etonians born in the 19th century — The following notable old boys of Eton College were born in the 19th century.1800s* Winthrop Mackworth Praed (1802 ndash;1839), poet and politician * Sir John William Lubbock (1803 ndash;1865), Vice Chancellor, University of London, 1837… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”