The tuning fork was invented in 1711 by trumpeter John Shore

Evidence

The tuning fork seems a rather humble device that does but one thing well—vibrate at a definite frequency and make a pure but almost barren tone at that frequency. The tuning fork has played a leading role in music and sound ever since its invention in 1711 by John Shore, who, like his father before him, was sergeant trumpeter to the court of King George I. Shore was a friend of George Frederic Handel, who wrote parts specifically for him, as did Henry Purcell. He was one of the few trumpeters who could play Purcell’s notoriously difficult passages. He carried a tuning fork around in his pocket. — Eric J. Heller, Why You Hear What You Hear- An…, 278

Categorization

• SHARE: For a musician friend who plays baroque trumpet — the tuning fork’s inventor was a Handel- and Purcell-collaborating trumpeter who carried it on his person. The tuning fork is the first pure-source exemplar of sinusoidal sound; its inventor being a trumpeter ties the physics to performance history.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Eric J. Heller, Why You Hear What You Hear- An…, 278