Tech History: The First Alarm Clock Only Rang at 4:00AM

The first alarm clock, invented by Levi Hutchins

Imagine an alarm clock that only wakes you up at 4 a.m.—no matter what. Sounds ridiculous today, right? But that’s exactly what the world’s first mechanical alarm clock did.

In 1787, Levi Hutchins, a farmer from New Hampshire, invented the very first alarm clock. The catch? It wasn’t adjustable. It only rang at 4 a.m. sharp, the time Hutchins wanted to get up and tend to his farm.

It took almost 60 years before French inventor Antoine Redier patented the first adjustable alarm clock, giving people the freedom to wake up at times that actually worked for them.

The lesson? Many great inventions start by solving one person’s problem—and only later do they evolve into solutions for everyone.

So the next time your alarm rings (hopefully not at 4 a.m.), remember that innovation often starts small, personal, and a little imperfect.