Historical Figures Codexery

Matthew Boulton

English businessman, inventor, and partner of James Watt

Matthew Boulton

Carl Frederik von Breda · via Wikipedia: Matthew Boulton · Public domain

He took full control of the family business after his father died in 1759.[1] Matthew Boulton was the third child and second son named Matthew born in 1728 to a toymaker who specialized in buckles.[2]

Quick Facts

Born
3 September 1728
Birthplace
Birmingham, England
Died
17 August 1809
Occupation
  • Businessman
  • inventor
  • mechanical engineer
  • silversmith
Children
5,Includes three daughters who died in infancy including Matthew
Relatives
Matthew Piers Watt Boulton (grandson)

Facts from the source article.

Life and work

Boulton married Mary Robinson in 1749, and after her death in 1759 he married her sister Anne in 1760.[1][2] He leased 13 acres at Soho in 1761 and built the Soho Manufactory by 1765.[3][1] The firm produced silver plate, Sheffield plate, and ormolu vases.[4][1] Boulton petitioned Parliament successfully for an assay office in Birmingham.[5][6]

He introduced an insurance system for workers in the 1770s.[7] Boulton acquired a two-thirds share in Watt's steam-engine patent in 1772.[8] The firm produced about 450 engines between 1775 and 1800.[9] Boulton established the Soho Mint in 1788 to strike coins.[10]

In 1774 Boulton persuaded Watt to relocate to Birmingham, and the following year they formed a business partnership.[11]

What the cited sources add

A 2009 source notes that Boulton's great-great-great-great-grandfather was Chancellor of Lichfield.[3] The same source states that Boulton's father moved from Lichfield to Birmingham for an apprenticeship.[3] A 2009 source indicates that Boulton copied vase designs from classical Greek works.[12] A 2009 source reports that Boulton's eldest son Matthew Piers Watt Boulton invented the aileron.[13]

A 2009 source notes that Boulton's coins featured a raised rim with incuse letters to thwart counterfeiters.[14] A 2009 source states that the cartwheel twopenny coin was not struck again and much was melted down in 1800.[15]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Matthew Boulton" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Uglow 2002, p. 18–19 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Matthew Boulton" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Uglow 2002, p. 18–19; Uglow 2002, p. 18–19 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Matthew Boulton" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Mason 2009, p. unnumbered, two pages before page 1 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Matthew Boulton" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Quickenden 2009, p. 41; Quickenden 2009, p. 41; "Jewellery and silverware", HathiTrust (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Matthew Boulton" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Uglow 2002, p. 18–19; Baggott 2009, p. 47 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Matthew Boulton" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Baggott 2009, p. 47; Smiles 1865, p. 169; Quickenden 2009, p. 41 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Matthew Boulton" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Boulton legacy", Birmingham City Council; Smiles 1865, p. 169; Smiles 1865, p. 169 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Matthew Boulton" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Andrew 2009, p. 65; Uglow 2002, p. 18–19 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Matthew Boulton" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Andrew 2009, p. 65; Uglow 2002, p. 18–19; Mantoux, "The Industrial Revolution in the Eighteenth Century", Taylor & Francis, 2006, p. 337; Mokyr, "The British Industrial Revolution", Westview Press, February 2024, p. 185 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Wikipedia, "Matthew Boulton" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Rodgers, "Boulton father of mechanized press", May 2009, p. 1, 56–58; Smiles 1865, p. 169; Smiles 1865, p. 169 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  11. Wikipedia, "Matthew Boulton" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Uglow 2002, p. 18–19; Uglow 2002, p. 18–19; Smiles 1865, p. 169; Andrew 2009, p. 65 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  12. Wikipedia, "Matthew Boulton" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Goodison 2009, p. 58–59; Goodison 2009, p. 58–59 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  13. Wikipedia, "Matthew Boulton" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kinzer, "Flying Under The Radar: The Strange Case Of Matthew Piers Watt Boulton", Times Literary Supplement, 1 May 2009, p. 14–15; Crouch, "Oldies and Oddities: Where Do Ailerons Come From?", September 2009; Barker, Stephen Daniel (ed.) Genealogy Data Page 3 (Family Pages) , PeterBarker.plus.com website. Retrieved 30 April 2013. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  14. Wikipedia, "Matthew Boulton" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Rodgers, "Boulton father of mechanized press", May 2009, p. 1, 56–58; Rodgers, "Boulton father of mechanized press", May 2009, p. 1, 56–58 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  15. Wikipedia, "Matthew Boulton" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Lobel 1999, p. 575; Clay 2009, p. 75–76; Clay 2009, p. 75–76 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Matthew Boulton (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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