The Resume

(March 24, 1693-March 24, 1776)
Born in Foulby, England, United Kingdom
Self-taught clockmaker
Invented the marine chronometer, which made possible the determination of the longitude of a ship at sea
British Parliament had offered a prize of 20,000 pounds for coming up with a method to determine longitude with an accuracy of 30 nautical miles or better to be tested on a trans-Atlantic voyage
Story told in Dava Sobel's book 'Longitude' (1995)
Portrayed by Michael Gambon in the Channel 4/A&E dramatization of 'Longitude' (1999)

Why he might be annoying:

The basic principal behind the marine chronometer (if your ship has a sufficiently accurate clock set to London time, then when it is noon locally, you can calculate from the time on the clock how far you have travelled) was outlined two centuries before he went to work.
The Board of Longitude ruled that the success of his first marine chronometer was a fluke and ordered him to repeat the test.
Early chronometers cost about a third of what the entire ship cost.

Why he might not be annoying:

After a second successful trans-Atlantic test of his chronometer, he was denied the full prize due to the interference of a Board of Longitude member who was working on a rival technique.
He had to appeal directly to King George III to get Parliament to cough up the additional payment.
James Cook used a copy of his chronometer on his Pacific voyages and praised its accuracy.

Credit: C. Fishel

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• C. Fishel's Profiles [Series 24]
• Google Modified Its Logo For My Birthday (Google Doodles)
• I Did Not Graduate High School [F-I]
• I Died in a Car
• I Died on My Birthday (Ranked: 83)
• I Have Smallpox
• I was Involved in a Car Accident in 1994
• Inventors
• Life Magazine's Top 100 People of the Millennium [2000] (Ranked: 63)
• Look at Me, My Picture Is Art
• People with John or Mary in their Names
• Profiles 27001-27250 (Ranked: 27064)
• Top 100 Great Britons [BBC, 2002] (Ranked: 39)

Year In Review:

For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 12 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 5 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 9 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
In 2018, Out of 9 Votes: 55.56% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 5 Votes: 80.0% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 10 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2015, Out of 12 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2014, Out of 16 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2013, Out of 15 Votes: 53.33% Annoying
In 2012, Out of 76 Votes: 51.32% Annoying
In 2011, Out of 12 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
In 2010, Out of 33 Votes: 30.30% Annoying
In 2009, Out of 9 Votes: 11.11% Annoying