| c2000 BC | Egyptians estimate time of day by the shadow cast by a stick stuck in the sand. |
| 1400 BC | Water clocks in use in the Mediterranean countries, the Middle East and India. |
| 800s | Candle clock thought to be in use |
| 1086 | Chinese emperor orders construction of astronomical clock by diplomat and scientist Su Sung.
Su Sung starts to build first clock with recognisable escapement. |
| 1094 | Su Sung's water clock is presented to the emperor. |
| 12th century AD | First weight-driven mechanical clocks constructed in Italy. |
| 1321-1325 | Richard Stoke builds clock with astronomical dial for Norwich Cathedral. |
| 1327-1336 | Richard of Wallingford (1292-1336), Abbott of St Albans, builds his clock and
publishes details. |
| mid-1300s | Verge escapement appears. |
| mid 1300s | Strikework appears. |
| 1348-64 | Clock built by Giovanni De Dondi. |
| 1320s | Strasbourgh clock is completed. |
| late 1400s | Spring-driven clocks appear in Italy. |
| 1505 | First clock dial on turret clock at Magdalen College, Cambridge. |
| early 1500s | Peter Henlein is producing watches in Nurnberg, Bavaria. |
| 1525 | Jacob Zech of Prague uses fusee, the first known use of this device in horology. |
| 1581 | Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) discovers isochronism of pendulums. |
| 1584 | German clockmaker Jost Burgi (1552-1632) invents cross-beat escapement |
