English Romanticism SCIENTISTS / TECHNOLOGISTS

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• Industrial Revolution
  • The Lunar Society
  • The Steam Engine

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	The Lunar Society Members: Erasmus Darwin, Matthew Boulton, Joseph Priestley, Josiah Wedgwood, William Hershel, John Smeaton
Erasmus Darwin
Biographical Info Born: 1731 Died: 1802 Biographical Notes Provided by The University of California Museum of Paleontology, Berkeley		Career Highlights: English Physician and Poet Member of The Lunar Society The Botanic Garden (1791) Zoonomia (1796) Phytologia (1800) The Temple of Nature (1802)
Related Engines Sites:	The Lunar Society Erasmus Darwin Poets View The Industrial Revolution
Matthew Boulton
Biographical Info Born: 1728 Died: 1809		Career Highlights: Partnered with James Watt, Boulton helped to produce steam engines mainly for the purpose of pumping water from mines. 1786: applied steam power to coining machines; he produced coins for Britain and foreign governments as well
Related Engines Sites:	The Lunar Society Energy Inventories Intellectual Kinship ...What All the World Desires to Have -- Power
Other Sources:	Selected Bibliography	Related Web Sites
Joseph Priestley
Biographical Info Born: 1733 Died: 1804		Career Highlights: Theologian and Scientist Dephlogisticated Air (oxygen) History of Electricity (1767)
Related Engines Sites:	Joseph Priestley Oxygen Oxygen (revised)
Other Sources:	Selected Bibliography	Related Web Sites
Josiah Wedgwood
Biographical Info Born: 1730 Died: 1795 A Potter in the family business at Churchyard Works Unitarian and Political Reformer		Career highlights: Invented green glaze and Queen's Ware Developed Egyptian Black objects (black basaltes) Introduced "division of labor" in his factories 1766: helped build the Trent & Mersey Canal Supported universal male suffrage, annual parliaments, and social reform Joined the Society for Constitutional Information Helped form the Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade
Related Engines Sites:	The Lunar Society Intellectual Kinship Cinque ...What All the World Desires to Have -- Power
Other Sources:	Selected Bibliography	Related Web Sites
James Watt
Biographical Info Born: 1736 Died: 1819 Scottish: University of Glasgow		Career Highlights: Inventor, Instrument Maker Member of The Lunar Society 1769: Improvements to the Newcomen Steam Engine, including a separate condensing chamber, an air pump to bring steam into the chamber, and insulated engine parts Conied term Horsepower Watt, unit of electrical power
Related Engines Sites:	Watt and Black Intellectual Kinship Steam Engines In England Luck and Recognition Carnegie Looks At Watt Man the Measure Francois Arago and Watt The Polytechnic Legacy ...What All the World Desires to Have -- Power
Other Sources:	Selected Bibliography	Related Web Sites
Matthew Murdock
Biographical Info Born: 1754 Died: 1839		Major Works Worked with Watt and Boulton in Birmingham Experimented with gas lighting First person to develop a steam gun
Related Engines Sites:	None Available
Other Sources:	Selected Bibliography	Links to Related Web Sites
Benjamin Thompson/Count Rumford
Biographical Info Born: 1763 Died: 1814 Was born in Woburn, Massachusetts but, because he was a loyalist, he left (abruptly) with the British in 1776 Spent much of his life as an employee of the Bavarian government where he received his title, "Count of the Holy Roman Empire"		Career Highlights: Known primarily for the work he did on the nature of heat Improved fireplaces, made them smaller and shallower with widely angled coverings so they would radiate better Established a successful welfare system in Munich Deduced that heat was molecular motion, not a fluid Designed better stoves and better chimneys A nutritionist, he wrote several essays on the benefits of coffee over tea Played a large role in founding the Royal Institution in 1800
Related Engines Sites:	Rumford Count Rumford Guillotine Guillotin/Guillotine Energy Is Pure Delight
Other Sources:	Selected Bibliography	Related Web Sites
Joseph Jacquard
Biographical Info Born: 1752 Died: 1834		Major Works Developed a machine where the punched cards were joined to form an endless loop that represented the program for the repeating pattern used for cloth and carpet designs His invention influenced the later Power-loom, of which there were about 100,000 by 1833
Related Engines Sites:	The Computer Jacquard and Babbage
Other Sources:	Selected Bibliography	Related Web Sites
Samuel Crompton
Biographical Info Born: 1753 Died: 1827		Major Works 1779: produced his spinning mule, so called because it was a hybrid that combined features of two earlier inventions, the Spinning Jenny and the Water Frame. The mule produced a strong, fine and soft yarn which could be used in all kinds of textiles, but was particularly suited to the production of muslins.
Related Engines Sites:	None Available
Other Sources:	Selected Bibliography	Related Web Sites
Richard Trevithick
Biographical Info Born: 1771 Died: 1833		Major Works Chirstmas Eve 1801: exhibited his Puffing Devil, a steam powered locomotive 1804: Penydarren, reached speed of 5mph 1808: Catch Me Who Can, reached speed of 12mph Visit The Spartacus Internet Encyclopedia page on Richard Trevithick
Related Engines Sites:	High Pressure Steam Engines Roads, Canals, and Roadways Railways Old and New The Prehistory of Motorcycles
Other Sources:	Selected Bibliography	Related Web Sites
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Biographical Info Born: 1806 Died: 1859		Major Works 1829: designed a suspension bridge to cross the River Avon at Clifton, project abandoned 1833: appointed chief engineer of the Great Western Railway 1838: his steamship Great Western made 15 day voyage to America 1845: steamship Great Britain 1852: steamship Great Eastern
Related Engines Sites:	Brunel -- Father and Son Brunel -- Father and Son (revised) The Crystal Palace Track Widths London's Secret Museums Steam Across the Atlantic A Short Discourse on Tunneling Titanic and Great Eastern
Other Sources:	Selected Bibliography	Related Web Sites