Ohio Clock

Last updated
Senate Sergeant at Arms Charles P. Higgins turns forward the Ohio Clock for the first daylight saving time on March 31, 1918, while Senators William M. Calder, Willard Saulsbury, Jr., and Joseph T. Robinson look on. Senate Sergeant at Arms Charles Higgins turns forward the Ohio Clock for the first Daylight Saving Time, while Senators William Calder (NY), William Saulsbury, Jr. (DE), and Joseph T. LOC hec.13949 (cropped).jpg
Senate Sergeant at Arms Charles P. Higgins turns forward the Ohio Clock for the first daylight saving time on March 31, 1918, while Senators William M. Calder, Willard Saulsbury, Jr., and Joseph T. Robinson look on.

The Ohio Clock (or Senate Clock) is a clock in the United States Capitol. The United States Senate ordered the clock from Thomas Voigt in 1815, and it has stood in or near the Senate Chamber since 1859.

Contents

History

Senator David Daggett of Connecticut ordered the eleven-foot (3.35 m) tall clock in late December 1815 from Philadelphia clockmaker Thomas Voigt for use in the Old Brick Capitol. [1] [2] [3] The clock was delivered in 1817 to the Old Senate Chamber and was moved to the corridor outside the newly finished Senate Chamber in 1859. [4] There is no evidence to support the claim that senators hid illegal liquor in the clock during the Prohibition period. [5] The glass covering the clock's face was broken in the 1983 United States Senate bombing. [3] The clock, which was renovated in Boston in 2010, is wound weekly and keeps accurate time. [3]

Name

The source of the clock's name is unknown. [6] One myth is that the clock was meant to commemorate Ohio's admission to the Union as the 17th state because the shield on the front of the clock's case has seventeen stars in it. However, there is no record that shows the clock celebrates Ohio's statehood and the clock was ordered twelve years after Ohio became a state, at a time when there were already eighteen states. [1] [6]

Notes

PD-icon.svg This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Senate .

  1. 1 2 "'Ohio' Clock: What's in a Name?". United States Senate. Retrieved August 20, 2010.
  2. "How Do We Know the Truth?: 'Ohio' Clock: What's in a Name?". United States Senate. Retrieved August 20, 2010.
  3. 1 2 3 Babington, Charles (August 18, 2010). "U.S. Senate's Historic Ohio Clock to Be Restored". Washington Post. Retrieved August 20, 2010.
  4. Kitto, Kris (October 27, 2009). "Tales of Capitol Art". The Hill. Retrieved August 20, 2010.
  5. "'Ohio' Clock: A Secret Stash?". United States Senate. Retrieved August 20, 2010.
  6. 1 2 "Capitol Art: The Ohio Clock | C-SPAN.org". www.c-span.org. Retrieved 2021-02-11.

38°53′25″N77°00′32″W / 38.890353°N 77.008899°W / 38.890353; -77.008899

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Capitol</span> Meeting place of the United States Congress

The United States Capitol, often called the Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the seat of the United States Congress, the legislative branch of the federal government. It is located on Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Although no longer at the geographic center of the national capital, the U.S. Capitol forms the origin point for the street-numbering system of the district as well as its four quadrants. Like the principal buildings of the executive and judicial branches, the Capitol is built in a neoclassical style and has a white exterior.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Capitol subway system</span> Subway system of US Capitol in Washington DC

The subway system of the United States Capitol Complex in Washington, D.C., consists of three underground electric people mover systems that connect the United States Capitol to several congressional office buildings – all of the Senate buildings and one of the House buildings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">14th United States Congress</span> 1815–1817 legislative term

The 14th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in the Old Brick Capitol in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1815, to March 4, 1817, during the seventh and eighth years of James Madison's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1810 United States census. Both chambers had a Democratic-Republican majority.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quorum</span> Minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly necessary to conduct business

A quorum is the minimum number of members of a group necessary to constitute the group at a meeting. In a deliberative assembly, a quorum is necessary to conduct the business of that group. According to Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, the "requirement for a quorum is protection against totally unrepresentative action in the name of the body by an unduly small number of persons." In contrast, a plenum is a meeting of the full body. A body, or a meeting or vote of it, is quorate if a quorum is present.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Statuary Hall</span> Chamber in the United States Capitol

The National Statuary Hall is a chamber in the United States Capitol devoted to sculptures of prominent Americans. The hall, also known as the Old Hall of the House, is a large, two-story, semicircular room with a second story gallery along the curved perimeter. It is located immediately south of the Rotunda. The meeting place of the U.S. House of Representatives for nearly 50 years (1807–1857), after a few years of disuse it was repurposed as a statuary hall in 1864; this is when the National Statuary Hall Collection was established. By 1933, the collection had outgrown this single room, and a number of statues are placed elsewhere within the Capitol.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Brick Capitol</span> Building in Washington, D.C. which served as the US Capitol from 1815–19

The Old Brick Capitol in Washington, D.C., served as the temporary meeting place of the Congress of the United States from 1815 to 1819, while the Capitol Building was rebuilt after the burning of Washington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California State Senate</span> Upper house of the California State Legislature

The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature, the lower house being the California State Assembly. The state senate convenes, along with the state assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joint session of the United States Congress</span> Gathering of members of both houses of Congress

A joint session of the United States Congress is a gathering of members of the two chambers of the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States: the Senate and the House of Representatives. Joint sessions can be held on any special occasion, but are required to be held when the president delivers a State of the Union address, when they gather to count and certify the votes of the Electoral College as the presidential election, or when they convene on the occasion of a presidential inauguration. A joint meeting is a ceremonial or formal occasion and does not perform any legislative function, and no resolution is proposed nor vote taken.

The United States Senate observes a number of traditions, some formal and some informal. Some of the current and former traditions are described below:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congressional office buildings</span> Office building used by the US Congress

The congressional office buildings are the office buildings used by the United States Congress to augment the limited space in the United States Capitol. The congressional office buildings are part of the Capitol Complex, and are thus under the authority of the Architect of the Capitol and protected by the United States Capitol Police. The office buildings house the individual offices of each U.S. Representative and Senator as well as committee hearing rooms, staff rooms, multiple cafeterias, and areas for support, committee, and maintenance staff.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tiber Creek</span> River in District of Columbia, U.S.

Tiber Creek or Tyber Creek, originally named Goose Creek, is a tributary of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. It was a free-flowing creek until 1815, when it was channeled to become part of the Washington City Canal. Presently, it flows under the city in tunnels, including under Constitution Avenue NW.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Capitol rotunda</span> Component of United States Capitol

The United States Capitol building features a central rotunda below the Capitol dome. Built between 1818 and 1824, the rotunda has been described as the Capitol's "symbolic and physical heart".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Senate Chamber</span> Room of the United States Capitol

The Old Senate Chamber is a room in the United States Capitol that was the legislative chamber of the United States Senate from 1810 to 1859 and served as the Supreme Court chamber from 1860 until 1935. It was designed in Neoclassical style and is elaborately decorated. In 1976 as part of the United States Bicentennial celebrations, it was restored to the appearance of when it served the Senate in the 1850s; it is preserved as a museum and for the Senate's use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Supreme Court Chamber</span> United States Capitol room

The Old Supreme Court Chamber is the room on the ground floor of the North Wing of the United States Capitol. From 1800 to 1806, the room was the lower half of the first United States Senate chamber, and from 1810 to 1860, the courtroom for the Supreme Court of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Senate</span> Upper house of the US Congress

The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress. The United States Senate and the lower chamber of Congress, the United States House of Representatives, comprise the federal bicameral legislature of the United States. Together, the Senate and the House have the authority under Article One of the U.S. Constitution to pass or defeat federal legislation. The Senate has exclusive power to confirm U.S. presidential appointments to high offices, approve or reject treaties, and try cases of impeachment brought by the House. The Senate and the House provide a check and balance on the powers of the executive and judicial branches of government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Webster Senate Page Residence</span> Living quarters for US Senate Pages

The Daniel Webster Senate Page Residence, also known as Webster Hall, is the residence for United States Senate Pages. The building is a former funeral home and underwent an $8 million refurbishment in 1995, converting it to its current state. It is located near the Hart Senate Office Building, giving pages the ability to walk to and from work. Pages are required to live in the building during the school year. The building has 24/7 protection by the United States Capitol Police both indoors and on foot around the building. The United States Senate Page School is located in the basement of the building. The residential portion of Webster Hall is staffed by adult employees of the United States Senate Page Program, while the school is staffed by employees of the United States Senate Page School. Pages are supervised by proctors, generally graduate students, who are employed by the United States Senate Page Program. $780 per month is deducted from a page's paycheck to fund room and board. In addition to the proctors, there is a program director and an administrative aide. There are two living quarters with one being designated for female students and the other for male students. There are laundry and kitchen facilities in the building. Along with the 24/7 protection by the United States Capitol Police, visitors are required to sign in and all individuals must present some form of identification. During summer sessions pages may request arrangements for alternative housing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1858–59 United States Senate elections</span>

The 1858–59 United States Senate elections were held on various dates in various states. As these U.S. Senate elections were prior to the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913, senators were chosen by state legislatures. Senators were elected over a wide range of time throughout 1858 and 1859, and a seat may have been filled months late or remained vacant due to legislative deadlock. In these elections, terms were up for the senators in Class 2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Senate chamber</span> Room of the United States Capitol

The United States Senate Chamber is a room in the north wing of the United States Capitol that has served as the legislative chamber of the United States Senate, since January 4, 1859. The Senate first convened in its current meeting place after utilizing Federal Hall, Congress Hall, and the Old Senate Chamber in the Capitol building for the same purpose.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vice President's Room</span> Room in the United States Capitol

The Vice President's Room is the vice president's office in the United States Capitol, added during the 1850s expansion.

Thomas Voigt was an American clockmaker. He apprenticed under his father, Henry Voigt, an American Revolution era clockmaker and inventor.