I almost didn't go to college. In the years leading up to making a decision about "life" I had no problem knowing what I wanted to do. I'd known for many years that I wanted to be an engineer in broadcasting and in the BBC in particular. Nobody around me thought that was a good idea. "You need to get a degree in a pure science." "Engineering isn't an education it's an avocation." Then the real blow dropped...

...One of my elder brothers was kicked out of King's College, London, at the end of the first year of reading for a degree in chemistry ("sent down" in British parlance). I always felt that he was much smarter than me -- though not as smart as my brilliant oldest brother -- and if he could fail at university what chance was there for me? The letter that the Dean of the College sent described my brother as being "unsuited for academia" and he hung it with pride behind his desk at another university when he became number two man in the Department of Production Engineering. But that was much later.

So, I didn't even apply for college. But then the BBC went and hired me and sent me to college anyway! Paid me a salary, paid tuition, paid accommodations. So I guess I won out all round.

My brother should have looked at the family history before being persuaded to go and read for a degree in a pure science; my family is cluttered with lawyers and engineers: The lawyers are all smart, self-controlled and dapper -- but they shouldn't be let loose with a hammer and you would never want to drive with any of them. The engineers are doers, excellent drivers, self-opinionated and far less well off.

Where am I going with this? Well this is the holiday season, is it not? And now we have practiced with turkey day we get to run up to the big one, whatever we call it with our different beliefs or lack thereof. And it occurred to me that we are really hard done by in technology. We don't have any kind of public holiday to celebrate all that technology has done for the world. (Before anyone sends me a manifesto of ills that have also been wrought, I agree with that as well -- but the world as a whole has things to answer for.)

Look at our current U.S. holidays: New Year's Day; OK, that's reasonable especially as it is a hangover day for a lot of people and you don't really want them at a desk near you. Martin Luther King Day; OK, celebration of a struggle for recognizing all humans are equal. Presidents' Day; why? A holiday created by politicians (mostly lawyers, of course) for politicians. Memorial Day; absolutely no problem. Independence Day; OK, everyone round the world celebrates their independence -- especially those countries which are not democratic -- but celebrating the end of the Civil War might be more appropriate? Labor Day; Is this the day for everyone who is not a politician? Celebrating labor has to be a new millennium anachronism. Columbus Day; certainly no longer politically correct, but at least the weather is usually OK for a good parade. Veterans' Day; would be nice if this was to be renamed Remembrance Day (as it is elsewhere) to remember all the losses, veterans and civilians alike, who died for our freedoms. Thanksgiving; great excuse to remember how lucky we are. Christmas; probably it would offend many but we should probably return to the old ways and just call it our winter feast day.

But despite my own personal thoughts about these holidays where is our technology holiday? It seems we have been forgotten.

If you ask the general public to name the three most significant scientists in history I am sure there would be a lot of names thrown out. But consistently you would hear Galileo, Einstein and Darwin. And of those three I only see one pure scientist: Einstein. Galileo was a practical, observant man who studied in a practical manner and who suffered massively at the hands of the Church for seeing that the globes in the sky were imperfect. Darwin, to my mind, studied what surely should have been obvious (?) but at least he followed the practical path to offer enough proof to all but the most illogical skeptics.

Einstein didn't actually do anything with his incredible thinking, did he? There was no way that he could physically prove or disprove the theory of relativity.

But who among all the scientists, technologists and engineers made the biggest difference in our lives today? I'm sure the names of transistor, IC and PC developers will come up, and maybe more general discoveries like DNA, antibiotics or nuclear power; but in the course of history who made the most difference? My vote would be an obscure man who spent thirty-five years solving what was the most important measurement of his generation, the very measurement of time.

John Harrison worked alone and mostly poor developing the world's first marine chronometers; he was totally committed to perfection and as a result of his inventiveness and persistence the world shrunk; the British Empire was a direct cause of his work but so was the opening of the world to trade.

But John Harrison died four months before the Declaration of Independence and he was English so that probably makes him a poor subject for a U.S. holiday. But none of the trio of Galileo, Einstein or Darwin was American either. So what should we name our day for ourselves? And even if the rest of the population doesn't celebrate it with us, when should we have our day and how do we persuade our employers to schedule it?

You can learn a lot more about the life of John Harrison in "Longitude" by Dava Sobel, published by Penguin; ISBN 0-14-025879-5.

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