Hezekiah Conant’s Astronomical Clock Hezekiah Conant (1827-1902) was born in Dudley, MA. A wealthy industrialist, he founded the Conant Thread Company in Pawtucket, RI in 1868. It became a highly successful business, employing by 1897 over 2,000 people, the most of any company in the state. Conant was an alumnus of Nichols Academy and a generous benefactor of the Academy and the Town of Dudley. In the 1880’s Conant donated funds to build several Academy buildings, including one to house a library and observatory (currently the Chapel).
Hezekiah Conant Entrepreneur, Inventor, Philanthropist
A successful inventor as well as businessman, Conant held various patents, including ones on machinery to improve the manufacture of thread, an improvement to the Christian Sharp rifle, and an astronomical clock.
History of the Conant Clock Hezekiah Conant invented his astronomical clock in 1886. He was awarded a patent in 1887. The clock is one of possibly three surviving examples, and was a gift to Nichols Academy from Conant. (A second one is at Brown University’s Ladd Observatory.) The 9-foot tall clock with Corinthian style columns is encased in mahogany. It was designed by Conant and made by E. Howard & Co. of Boston, MA at a cost of nearly $20,000. Originally located in the Nichols Academy library/observatory building, the clock was housed in various locations over the years and finally relocated in the early 1960s to its current home in Conant Library. One of the original functions of the clock was to transmit time signals. The original electrical contacts are stored in the Nichols Archives. The clock was restored in 2009 by David G. Gow of Shrewsbury, MA.
Description of the Conant Clock Divided into two sections: the lower containing two pendulums and the upper containing three separate but synchronized clocks. - The lower left clock displays the sidereal time (a measurement of time with respect to stars rather than the sun. A sidereal day is about 4 minutes shorter than a solar day).
- The lower right clock displays the mean solar time (standard time).
- The large upper clock shows the difference between sidereal and mean solar time, as well as the positions of the moon and sun. The clock requires weekly winding.