Thomas Mudge

Thomas Mudge (1715 – 14 November 1794, London) was an English horologist, born in Exeter, England. 

His family moved to Bideford when he was a child, and his father became the headmaster of the grammar school. He was sent to London to apprentice with George Graham, the famed clock and watch maker, while still at the same school.

Mudge began working for a number of notable London stores after qualifying as a watchmaker in 1738. 

He invented the detached lever escapement, which he originally used in a clock and can be considered the greatest single innovation ever applied to watches, around 1755. Almost every mechanical pocket watch and wristwatch built to date has this feature.

Lever escapement is a "detached" escapement, which allows the balance wheel to swing totally free of the escapement throughout the most of its oscillation, until it gives a short impulse, which improves timekeeping accuracy. The motion is exceedingly exact due to "locking" and "draw." mechanism. In mechanical watches and clocks, the escapement produces the "ticking" sound. 

Mudge created the most complicated equation watch for the eminent John Ellicott FRS, and was subsequently directly commissioned to supply watches to Ferdinand VI of Spain. At least five timepieces are known to have been produced for him. In 1765 he published the book, Thoughts on the Means of Improving Watches, Particularly those for Use at Sea.

In 1770, Mudge started working on the development of the “Marine Chronometer” in an attempt to satisfy the Board of Longitude's stringent specifications and in 1774 he was awarded 500 guineas for his designs. The same time King George III bought a big gold watch from Mudge, which he gave to his wife, Queen Charlotte. This is still housed in Windsor Castle's Royal Collection

In 1776, he was chosen as the king's watchmaker. In 1779, he completed two more which were put to the test by Nevil Maskelyne, an Astronomer Royal who found to be inadequate. A dispute ensued, with accusations that Maskelyne had not given them a fair trial and Mudge was awarded £2,500 by a Committee of the House of Commons who decided for Mudge and against the Board of Longitude.