The History of the Alarm Clock

The first Alarm clock - 201 AD

201

The first alarm clock was created in Ancient Greece by Ctesibus, a Hellenistic engineer and inventor. Ctesibus developed an elaborate system of dropping pebbles onto a gong in order to make a sound.

First Mechanical alarm Clock

1787

The first American alarm clock was created in 1787 by Levi Hutchins in Concord, New Hampshire. This device he made only for himself however, and it only rang at 4 am, in order to wake him for his job.

First Electric Clock

1840

Alexander Bain of Scotland patented the first electric clock in the year 1840.

First Adjustable alarm clock

1847

The French inventor Antoine Redier was the first to patent an adjustable mechanical alarm clock, in 1847

First Patented Alarm Clock

1876

American Seth E. Thomas, patented his own version of the alarm clock in 1876. His company became a mass-producer of the alarm clock, bringing the invention to the masses.

First Portable alarm clocks

1900

During the mid 1900s alarm clock companies continued to innovate, with portable travel alarm clocks and radio alarm clocks that allowed consumers to wake up to something more compelling than a bell.

War Clock

1933

Metals were scarce at the time, though, so most war-clocks were made of a combination similar to a reinforced egg carton, with pulped paper and pressed wood

First Radio clock

1940

In the 1940s, James F. Reynolds invented the radio alarm clock

First Snooze button

1944

With factories back in business as early as 1944, alarm clocks soon became one of the first products to debut so-called post-war designs. Enter, the snooze button design.

First Digital Clock

Oct 23, 1956

The first digital alarm clock was patented on October 23, 1956

Smart Phones

2012

These days the alarm clock, in its original form, is endangered, since alarm apps on smart phones are mostly used as alarms these days.