who came up with the 12 hour clock
12-hour clock The 12-hour clock can be traced back as far as Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt.[4] Both an Egyptian sundial for daytime use[5] and an Egyptian water clock for night-time use were found in the tomb of Pharaoh Amenhotep I.[6] Dating to c. 1500 BC, these clocks divided their respective times of use into 12 hours each.
History of timekeeping devices The Egyptians divided the day into two 12-hour periods, and used large obelisks to track the movement of the sun. They also developed water clocks, which were probably first used in the Precinct of Amun-Re, and later outside Egypt as well; they were employed frequently by the Ancient Greeks, who called them clepsydrae. The Zhou dynasty is believed to have used the outflow water clock around the same time, devices which were introduced from Mesopotamia as early as 2000Â BC.