_National_Museum_of_Scotland.jpg/250px-Robert_Bryson's_rolling_ball_clock_(1804)_National_Museum_of_Scotland.jpg){kind=small}
_National_Museum_of_Scotland.jpg/1331px-Robert_Bryson's_rolling_ball_clock_(1804)_National_Museum_of_Scotland.jpg)
Community hub
Recent from talks
Contribute something
Nothing was collected or created yet.
Robert Bryson
View on Wikipedia
_National_Museum_of_Scotland.jpg)
Robert Bryson FRSE (25 August 1778 – 8 August 1852) was a chronometer and clock maker in Edinburgh. He received the Royal Warrant as Watch and Clock Maker to Queen Victoria.
Notable Clocks
[edit]"Congreve" Rolling Ball Clock (1804)
[edit]Robert Bryson made a rolling ball clock in 1804, four years before the design was patented by William Congreve. It is on display at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.[1]
Sidereal Clock for the Calton Hill Observatory (1832)
[edit]He made a sidereal clock for the City Observatory, formerly the Calton Hill Observatory,[2] where it was used by Professor Thomas Henderson in his observations.[3]
Heriot-Watt University connection
[edit]A conversation with Leonard Horner in Robert Bryson's watchmakers shop,[4] regarding the lack of training in mathematics within apprentices, led to the founding of the School of Arts of Edinburgh which became Heriot-Watt University.
Personal life and death
[edit]He married Janet Gillespie (1788–1858) on 29 December 1815 in the parish of North Leith. They had four sons and two daughters:
- Alexander Bryson (1816–1866) - Biologist and Geologist.
- William Gillespie Bryson (1818-1906)
- Robert Bryson (1819–1886) - who followed him into the watch and clock business and became, amongst other things, Master of the Merchant Company - married Mary Ann Braund Box - buried in Warriston Cemetery
- Margaret Muir Bryson (1821–1873)
- James Mackay Bryson (1824–1894)
- Helen Cockburn Bryson (1826–1912)
His premises, Robert Bryson & Son was located at 66 Princes Street, Edinburgh and he lived his final years at 11 Salisbury Road in south Edinburgh.[5]
He died 8 August 1852 and is buried in New Calton Cemetery along with his wife, Jane, son Alexander and other family members.
References
[edit]- ^ "Congreve rolling ball clock". National Museums Scotland.
- ^ Astronomical Society of Edinburgh. "Instruments of the City Observatory". Retrieved 27-01-2020.
- ^ Kemp, Kenny. "Robert Bryson & Sons: time-keeping, innovation and useful learning in Edinburgh". The Royal Society of Edinburgh. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
- ^ "The Edinburgh School of Arts | Heriot-Watt University". Hw.ac.uk. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
- ^ Edinburgh Post Office Directory 1852
 | This Scottish business-related biographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
  | This Scottish biographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |