Edward Howard
American manufacturer
Written byJonathan D. BettsJonathan D. BettsCurator of Horology, Royal Observatory Greenwich, National Maritime Museum.
Fact-checked byThe Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThe Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaEncyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.
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- Oct. 6, 1813, Hingham, Mass., U.S.
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- March 5, 1904, Roxbury, Mass.
Edward Howardwas a pioneer American watch manufacturer.
Howard was apprenticed to the famous clock maker Aaron Willard; he showed great mechanical aptitude and a marked preference for smaller timepieces. In 1840 he set up a successful business making clocks in Roxbury.
In 1850 Howard and his associate Aaron Dennison conceived a watchmaking factory that would employ automated equipment and interchangeable parts rather than the individual hand production then common. Despite warnings against the venture, they formed, with their financial backer, Samuel Curtis, the American Horologe Company, and by 1852 their first watches were put on the market. In September 1853 the company was renamed the Boston Watch Company, and manufacturing moved to Waltham, Mass., with Howard managing the accounts. In 1857 the company failed, and its property and equipment were sold to form what later became the Waltham Watch Company, which was the leading American maker of railroad chronometers as well as one of the most popular pocket watches before the company phased out American production in the 1950s. Howard returned to Roxbury and started a series of watchmaking companies before forming, in 1881, the E. Howard Watch and Clock Company, which produced about 854,000 watches through 1903.
Jonathan D. Betts