Jens Olsen (clockmaker)

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Jens Olsen (clockmaker)

Jens Olsen was a Danish clockmaker, locksmith, and astronomy enthusiast. He was born on July 27, 1872, in Ribe, Denmark, and died on November 17, 1945. He is best known for creating Jens Olsen’s World Clock, which is installed in Copenhagen City Hall and is considered one of the most accurate mechanical clocks in the world.

Life in brief
- From childhood, Olsen loved clocks and machinery. His father was a weaver, but Olsen trained as a locksmith while reading about astronomy.
- In 1897 he became a journeyman and visited Strasbourg to study the famous Schwilgué clock, which inspired his own ideas.
- He spent time working in Switzerland, then returned to Denmark to run his own clockmaking business and work as a supervisor at a workshop.
- In 1905 he married Anna Sofie Kröldrup and set up his shop at their home.

The World Clock project
- Around age fifty, Olsen completed his plan for a world clock showing many kinds of time, from sidereal to planetary movements. He showed his calculations to professor Elis Strömgren, who approved them.
- It took about twenty more years to secure funding. In 1943, during the German occupation of Denmark, the Copenhagen Technological Institute provided a workshop and staff to move the project forward.
- Olsen died in 1945 of thrombosis, before the clock was finished. His colleague Otto Mortensen took over and the clock began running on December 15, 1955.
- The World Clock continues to operate and is highly regarded for its precision.

Other works
- Olsen also built a telescope and contributed to projects at the Rundetårn (Round Tower) in Copenhagen.