Matthew Piers Watt Boulton

Early life

Boulton was born on 22 September 1820 at Mose Old Norton, Staffordshire, to Matthew Robinson Boulton and Mary Anne Wilkinson. He was baptized at St. Mary's Church, Handsworth, on 9 November 1820. His ancestors include John Bolton of Lichfield, whose surname lacked the 'u', and possibly Robert Bolton, a rector of Broughton.

Boulton had two younger brothers, three sisters, and eight cousins. His brother-in-law James Patrick Muirhead became James Watt's biographer. His grandfather Matthew Boulton and James Watt perfected the steam engine in the 1770s. Boulton was named after his grandfather and James Watt.

His second given name reflected the Piers family of Chester. In 1815–1816 his father bought the Great Tew Estate in Oxfordshire, adding a Gothic Revival library in 1825 and later a Tudor section. The estate remained with Boulton's family until 1914.

Later years: career, publications and scientific works

Boulton served as a Justice of the Peace, Deputy Lieutenant, and High Sheriff of Oxfordshire before age 30. He inherited his father's fortune in 1848 and closed the family businesses, selling their assets. He purchased the Great Haseley Court estate in Tetworth, Gloucestershire in 1880. With up to 11 servants, he pursued studies and writings on diverse subjects.

He wrote pamphlets refuting early photographs, verse translations of Homer and Virgil, papers on metaphysics, and pamphlets on solar energy. He earned over a dozen patents, including for aircraft propulsion systems, and assigned at least one to George Westinghouse, Jr. Boulton was described as reclusive, with his knowledge known only to a few. He did not seek notability and was one of only five Metaphysical Society members absent from the Dictionary of National Biography. A 2009 biographic sketch by Bruce Kinzer noted his lack of posthumous recognition.

Aeronautical works

In 1868 Boulton patented the first aileron, intended for lateral flight control and actuated by a hand control or an automatic pendulum device that functioned as a single-axis autopilot. His inspiration came from Count Ferdinand Charles Honore Phillipe d'Esterno's 1864 pamphlet on bird flight. Although his aileron system was functional, Boulton lacked a detailed understanding of aerodynamics, and his airplane design never flew. In 1873 Charles Renard flew a small unmanned glider with ailerons controlled by Boulton's pendulum device.

Boulton's patent was sealed on 4 August 1868 and backdated to 5 February 1868. It was issued more than 35 years before ailerons were reinvented in France and later repatented in the US by Glenn Curtiss. Aviation historian C. H. Gibbs-Smith acknowledged Boulton's priority, noting that if the patent had been known during the Wright brothers' legal filings, they might not have claimed priority for lateral control.

Published works

Boulton's known works include 'Essay on the Decline and Fall of the Persian Empire' (1839), awarded the Eton Prize. He contributed to 'Prolusiones Academicae' (1841). He wrote pamphlets on photography: 'Remarks on Some Evidence Recently Communicated to the Photographic Society' (1863) and 'Remarks Concerning Certain Photographs Supposed to be of Early Date' (1864, revised 1865). He published verse translations: 'Translations of Book I of Homer's Iliad; also passages from Virgil, Aristophanes, Moschus, and Catullus' (1875) and 'Translation of the Sixth Book of Virgil's Aeneid and Book VIII, lines 652–713' (1877).

He read a paper before the Metaphysical Society titled 'Has a Metaphysical Society Any Raison d'être?' (1878). He published 'Songs from Heine and other Pieces' (1880) and two pamphlets on solar heat: 'Considerations on the Subject of Solar Heat' (1890) and 'On Solar or Stellar Heat' (1891). Under the pseudonym M. P. W. Bolton, the British Museum lists 'Examination of the Principles of the Scoto-Oxonian' (1861) and 'Reply to a critique in the Saturday review on the Scoto-Oxonian philosophy' (1862).

Did You Know?

• Boulton was married twice; his first wife was Frances Eliza Cartwright, daughter of a Tory politician.
• Boulton Peak in Antarctica was named after him in 1960 for his invention of the aileron.
• His younger brother Montagu Boulton was admitted to Cambridge's Inner Temple as 'Matthew Bolton'.