Ball Drop History - By Sailors, For Sailors

By Atticus Newby

        Just a week after Christmas Eve is New Year's Eve, the final day of the year. Like Christmas, we have a number of traditions that we enjoy for welcoming in the new year, and one of the most popular is staying up until midnight to watch the Times Square Ball drop and cheer "Happy New Year" when the seconds run out. The Times Square Ball is the most famous example of a time ball today, and likely the only one that most Americans have ever seen, but there is a lot more to time balls than being a part of our New Years' traditions. Time balls are a genius, important invention that played a key role in establishing an international standard of time.
        Prior to the industrial revolution, there was little need to know the precise time. Church bells would be rung at the hour marks, and that was all most people needed to know. However, by the time the 19th century arrived, ship captains needed a far more exact measurement of time, in order to know just what time they received their readings of the stars, and subsequently determine their location. The introduction of the marine chronometer went a long way toward solving the issue, but a standard time was still needed to set them against.
        A Royal Navy captain named Robert Wauchope thought a large signal set up in a harbor to show an exact time would solve the issue, so that sailors could view it through a telescope and set their clocks accordingly. Thus, the time ball was born. The first time ball was set up in Portsmouth, England by Wauchope in 1829, and it was an immediate success. Just a few years later, another was set up in London on the Greenwich Observatory, at the place of the Prime Meridian, a predecessor to the Coordinated Universal Time. Time balls would be built in ports throughout the world, and remained essential until more exact and affordable clocks became widely available. Today, various time balls continue to be dropped on special occasions in cities such as Christchurch, New Zealand, Edinburgh, and of course, New York City.
        The iconic Times Square Ball came along many years after the earliest time balls, in the year 1907. Since 1904, The New York Times had enjoyed a yearly celebration in Times Square with a massive fireworks show, but after fireworks were banned in the area, a new tradition was needed to celebrate the occasion. Drawing inspiration from the neighboring Western Union Building, a slightly unconventional time ball was constructed at Times Square to serve as the grand finale of the New Years' celebration. Unlike most time balls, the Times Square Ball drops for around a minute before coming to a stop at the turn of the year, while other time balls begin to drop at a set time.
        Necessity is the mother of invention, and it is always amazing to see what sorts of new devices have been created to meet mankind's constantly changing needs. Time balls were born out of necessity, but have remained meaningful and popular long after they were no longer essential for telling time. As New Year's Eve draws near, we can appreciate their history and accomplishments along with their festiveness, for all of these things are something to smile about.