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Britain Unlimited covers 250 Great British people and what made them famous
Who was Matthew Boulton? Manufacturer, industrialist and pioneer in Technology.
Date and Place of Birth: 3rd September 1728, (Dictionary of National Biography quotes 14th September), New Hall Walk, Snow Hill, Birmingham, England.
Family Background: Son of the manufacturer of buckles and metal "toys." One of four children of Matthew Boulton and Christiana Piers formerly of Chester.
Education: Reverend John Hausted's Academy in Deritend, Birmingham. Left school at 14 to become a partner with his father.
Chronology:
1759: Death of his father leaving him his manufacturing business.
1760: Represented the buckle makers of England before a House of Commons Committee. Began manufacturing Sheffield plate which was a process of laying a thin layer of silver on base metal.
1760's: Foundation of the Lunar Society which met at Boulton's house. Legend has it that the name came from the practice of holding meetings on evenings of the Full moon so visitors good see their way home. Society originally founded by Boulton and Erasmus Darwin but later included such notables as James Watt, Benjamin Franklin and Josiah Wedgwood. Began manufacturing items in ormolu.
1761: Began building the Soho Manufactory in Birmingham, which consisted of workshops, warehouses and dwellings for the workmen.
1762: Built new factory. Started in partnership with John Fothergill to help him export products to Europe.
1766: Completion of the Soho Manufactory.
1767: First visit of James Watt to the Soho works even though Boulton wasn't present on his occasion.
1768: Watt meets Boulton.
1769: First patent between Boulton and Watt for a steam engine. Boulton later seeks an extension of this patent until 1800 which was to give the pair a significant commercial advantage.
1770: Birth of son Mathew Robinson Boulton.
1770's: Began the first minting of coins to give a standard weight and design.
1773: Opening of the Birmingham Assay Office which speeded up the process of officially marking silver in the area.
1774: Watt moved to Birmingham.
1781: Partnership with Fothergill dissolved due to heavy financial losses.
1783: Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
1785: Elected Fellow of the Royal Society.
1792: Became a Member of the Society of Civil Engineers.
Statue of Matthew Boulton, James Watt and
William Murdoch in Broad Street, Birmingham1795: Formation of the company Boulton, Watt and Sons.
1796: Richard Trevithick visits the Soho Foundry after the opening of a purpose built steam engine manufactory. Began the remodeling of Soho House.
1800: Became a proprietor of the Royal Institution.
Marriage: 1. 1756 to Mary Robinson a distant cousin. (died 1759)
2. 1767 to Mary's sister Anne who drowned in the swimming pool at Soho House, it is said because she couldn't cope with the scandal.Places of Interest:
BIRMINGHAM:
Soho House, Handsworth. (Part of Birmingham City Museums).
Date and Place of Death: 17th August 1809, Birmingham, England of kidney failure.
Age at Death: 81.
Site of Grave: St. Mary's Church, Handsworth, Birmingham, England.
