HOWARD, EDWARD

born Oct. 6, 1813, Hingham, Mass., U.S. died March 5, 1904, Roxbury, Mass. pioneer American watch manufacturer. Howard was apprenticed to the famous clockmaker Aaron Willard; he showed great mechanical aptitude and a marked preference for smaller timepieces. In 1840 he set up a successful business making clocks in Roxbury. In 1850 Howard and his friend Aaron Dennison conceived a watchmaking factory that would employ automated equipment and interchangeable parts rather than the individual hand production then common. Despite warnings against the venture, they formed, with their financial backer, Samuel Curtis, The American Horological Company, and by 1853 their first watches were put on the market. In 1857 the company failed and was reorganized under Aaron Dennison; it later became the Waltham Watch Company.