( CNN ) -- Big Ben , arguably the world 's most famous clock , celebrates on Sunday 150 years of keeping London on time . The British landmark has lived through war , bad weather and disasters . Big Ben 's distinctive bongs have been a part of the London scene for 150 years . Big Ben is the 14-ton bell inside the world 's largest four-faced chiming clock , although most people use the name to describe the tower that houses it . The clock is perched on a 96-meter ( 310-foot ) elegant tower at the Westminster Bridge end of the Palace of Westminster . The Victorian masterpiece , which provides distinctive chimes known as bongs , was voted Britain 's favorite monument in 2008 . It has been featured in films such as `` 101 Dalmatians '' and `` Harry Potter and the Order of The Phoenix . '' Big Ben has been disrupted a few times over the years for various reasons , including weather and breakages . Its bongs went silent for about two months in August 2007 to allow a crew to repair its mechanism system . During that time , the rest of the clock was running on an electric system . It was fully restarted again October 1 . The clock pays tribute to Britain 's royal history : It has a Latin inscription of the phrase : `` O Lord , save our Queen Victoria the First . '' The ornate masterpiece has some quirky features . The hour hand , which weighs 300 kilograms ( 661 pounds ) , is made of gun metal while the minute hands are made of copper sheet . The minute hands would not work when they were first made of cast iron because they were too heavy . The clock started working on May 31 , 1859 , after the lighter copper hands were installed . The origins of the landmark 's name are obscure . Some say it was named after the 1850s heavyweight boxer Ben Caunt while others suggest it was named after Sir Benjamin Hall , a former member of parliament . Hall , the commissioner of works in 1859 , was responsible for ordering the bell . Alan Hughes , the director of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry that made the bell , prefers the latter . `` I suppose I like it chiefly because it was a nickname of a man who was big and loud and pompous , and never used one word if 27 would do , '' he said in a 2008 interview . Hughes ' company also made America 's Liberty Bell and a number of others for cathedrals and churches around the world .
London 's Big Ben turns 150 years old on Sunday . Comment: No one is quite sure where the clock 's moniker came from .