Today in History

May 31, 1850

Big Ben

Big Ben, the tower clock in St. Stephen's Tower that looks out over the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, London began keeping time on this date in 1859. Designed by Edmund Beckett Denison, the clock was completed in 1854. Five years later, the tower was finished. The name "Big Ben" is of uncertain origin. The clock is highly accurate and regulated by a stack of coins balancing and weighting the clock pendulum.

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