Why the Clock Has IIII and Not IV

Some have wondered why.

Some have even gone so far as to call it "embarrassing."

So perhaps it is "time" to put the issue to rest.

For the truly inquiring minds, who don't really believe that all you need to know was learned in kindergarten, here is the skinny on the Sam Houston State University clock, and its Roman inscription IIII.

According to the Verdin Company of Cincinnati, Ohio, manufacturer of the SHSU clock, the use of IIII was universally accepted when Roman numerals were used on dials.

Furthermore, a study of Roman inscriptions surviving from the days when Rome controlled the British Isles shows that the Romans themselves preferred IIII to IV. IIII appears 87 percent of the time.

With that research, the Verdin Company considered that justification to use IIII instead of IV, explaining that it balances the VIII and makes the dial more pleasing to the eye.

Even the Romans, it seems, knew "what IIII."

Click here for more information on Roman and clock numerals.

Background on carillons and bells at Sam Houston State

Sam Houston State University has enjoyed the sound of tolling bells for a quarter century.

In 1980 Robert Wright, a West Columbia High School and later University of Texas graduate who attended Army Specialized Training at Sam Houston State Teachers College in 1942, provided a donation to establish the Farrell-Wright Carillon, in honor of his parents. It was dedicated on April 13, 1980.

The electronic bell system included eight speakers installed atop the Marks Administration Building and a keyboard console that could be played manually. It served the campus for almost 25 years and was moved to a nearby building when the Administration Building was renovated. In recent years it began having mechanical problems that became unrepairable.

Ruth and Ron Blatchley of College Station donated a clock with chimes that was installed in the Alumni Garden just west of the Lowman Student Center in 2003. They later provided a sizeable donation for construction of the Ruth and Ron Blatchley Bell Tower, that was dedicated on Oct. 15, 2005. The Blatchleys were students at Sam Houston State in the late 1960s.

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SHSU Media Contact: Office of Public Relations
Oct. 20, 2005
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