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George Graham

Tompion’s partner and heir in Fleet Street, who worked on the cylinder escapement for watches and the deadbeat for clocks, built instruments for Greenwich, trained Thomas Mudge and helped John Harrison.

Born 1673 (or 1675), near Carlisle, Cumberland, Died 16 November 1751, Fleet Street, London

In the history The balance spring and the age of precision

A red chalk drawing of a smiling seated man in a wig and a long buttoned coat, one arm resting on a table.
Portrait of George Graham, red chalk drawing by Thomas Hudson, about 1739. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.5 The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Cropped here. View full original at Wikimedia Commons (opens in a new tab) · 1,935 × 2,903 px; CC0 (opens in a new tab).
A time line of George Graham’s life, 1673 to 1751.
George Graham, 1673 to 1751. The dots are key dates.1, 2

Apprentice and heir

George Graham was born in Cumberland, probably in 1673; Wikipedia gives Kirklinton and says the year may be 1675.1, 2

A Quaker, he walked to London in 1688 to be apprenticed as a clockmaker, and then joined Thomas Tompion's workshop.1, 2

He married Tompion's niece Elizabeth in September 1704, became his partner, and inherited the business in 1713.1, 6

Wikipedia says he continued Tompion’s numbering of clocks and watches.6

Escapements and pendulums

Wikipedia credits him with perfecting the cylinder escapement in 1726, which let watches be made thinner than verge watches; the 1911 Britannica calls him its author.3, 7

He used the deadbeat escapement in precision clocks from about 1715; Wikipedia says it was designed by Richard Towneley and used earlier by Tompion.2, 3

Wikipedia credits him with the mercury pendulum, which offsets the effect of heat on a pendulum’s length.2

A quarter-repeating pair-case watch he made in 1719-20 is in the Metropolitan Museum.8

Instruments for astronomers

He made Halley's mural quadrant at Greenwich and the zenith sector Bradley used, and supplied the French Academy's instruments for measuring a degree of the meridian.1, 2

He was a Fellow of the Royal Society and Master of the Clockmakers' Company in 1722; he found the daily variation of the Earth's magnetic field.1, 2

Pupils and later years

Thomas Mudge was his apprentice in the 1730s.2, 4

Wikipedia says that when John Harrison came to London, Halley sent him to Graham, who advised him and lent him money to build his first sea clock.2

Known in the trade as 'Honest George Graham', he died in Fleet Street on 16 November 1751 and was buried in Tompion's grave in Westminster Abbey.1, 2

Key dates

  1. 1704

    Marries Elizabeth Tompion.1

  2. 1713

    Inherits Tompion's business.1, 6

  3. 1751

    Dies; buried with Tompion.1, 2

Where George Graham leads

  • Based in, PlaceLondon

    Graham worked and died in Fleet Street.1, 2

  • Trained under, PersonThomas Tompion

    Graham joined Tompion's workshop, married his niece and inherited the business in 1713.1, 2

  • Trained, PersonThomas Mudge

    Mudge was apprenticed to Graham from about 1730-31.2, 4

  • Worked with, PersonJohn Harrison

    Graham advised John Harrison and lent him money when Harrison came to London.1, 2

  • Part of, HistoryThe balance spring and the age of precision

    Tompion’s heir, who worked on the cylinder escapement and trained Thomas Mudge.1, 2, 4

  • See also, PlaceGreenwich

    Graham built Halley’s mural quadrant at Greenwich and the zenith sector Bradley used.1, 2

Facts and sources

Born
1673 (or 1675), near Carlisle, Cumberland1, 2
Died
16 November 1751, Fleet Street, London1, 2
Worked in
Fleet Street, London2, 6

Sources

  1. 1

    George Graham (opens in a new tab), Westminster Abbey, public record

  2. 2

    George Graham (clockmaker) (opens in a new tab), Wikipedia, independent

  3. 3

    Escapement (opens in a new tab), Wikipedia, independent

  4. 4

    Mudge, Thomas (Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, vol. 39) (opens in a new tab), Wikisource transcription of the DNB (Smith, Elder & Co.), independent

  5. 5

    Portrait of George Graham, red chalk drawing by Thomas Hudson, about 1739. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. (opens in a new tab), Wikimedia Commons, public record

  6. 6

    Thomas Tompion (opens in a new tab), Wikipedia, independent

  7. 7

    Watch (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th edition, 1911) (opens in a new tab), Wikisource transcription of the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica, independent

  8. 8

    Pair-case watch with quarter repeating mechanism by George Graham, 1719-20 (opens in a new tab), The Metropolitan Museum of Art, public record

Sources read November 11, 2026.