People

Summary Robert Bage (1730-1801) was a friend of Erasmus Darwin, John Whitehurst and William Hutton and a… read more »

Joseph Wright of Derby: Painter of the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution Text: Olga Baird Joseph Wright… read more »

Image: The Mill House, Elford, near Lichfield. The home of Robert Bage in the late 18th century. Robert… read more »

Joseph Wright of Derby (1734-1797), Oil on Canvas

Image: Joseph Wright of Derby (1734-1797). Pencil, pen and ink and coloured washes on paper. Image from:… read more »

Image:Joseph Wright of Derby (1734-1797. Oil on Canvas, Image from: Derby Museum & Art Gallery Public scientific lectures… read more »

Wright’s painting is a celebration of scientific knowledge and the interpreter of this knowledge, the philosopher. The… read more »

Anna Seward: “Swan of Lichfield” Born in Derbyshire in 1742, Anna Seward was the daughter of Thomas… read more »

Pencil sketch of Dr William Small, member of the Lunar Society and a prominent physician in Birmingham during… read more »

Erasmus Darwin: Doctor, Inventor, Poet and Educationalist Erasmus Darwin was born at Elston, near Nottingham, in 1731… read more »

William Small: Teacher, Scientist and Mentor William Small was born in Forfarshire, Scotland, in 1734, the son… read more »

William Withering: Physician, Botanist and Mineralogist In 1741, William Withering was born at Wellington, Shropshire, the only… read more »

James Keir: Chemist, Geologist, Industrialist and Inventor James Keir was born in Stirlingshire, Scotland in 1735. He… read more »

James Watt: Inventor James Watt was born in Greenock, Scotland in 1736. His father was an instrument… read more »

Jedediah Strutt: Industrialist and Philanthopist Text: Olga Baird Jedediah Strutt (1726-1797) was one of leading pioneer industrialists of… read more »

John Whitehurst: Clockmaker, Engineer and Geologist John Whitehurst was born in Congleton, Cheshire in 1713, the son… read more »

Josiah Wedgwood: Industrialist Josiah Wedgwood was born in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent in 1730 into a family of long… read more »

Maria Edgeworth: Author and Educationalist Text: Kate Iles Image: Birmingham City Archives Maria Edgeworth was born in Oxford in… read more »

Matthew Boulton: Industrialist Matthew Boulton was born in Birmingham in 1728, the son of a local manufacturer… read more »

Joseph Priestley: Scientist, Philosopher and Reformer Born into a Yorkshire wool manufacturing family in 1733, Priestley was… read more »

Richard Lovell Edgeworth: Inventor, Educator and Reformer In 1744, Edgeworth was born in Bath into a landowning… read more »

Samuel Galton Junior: Industrialist Samuel Galton junior was born in Birmingham in 1753, the son of the… read more »

Thomas Day: Humanitarian and Reformer Thomas Day was born in 1748. His father was a landowner and… read more »

Image: Portrait of Thomas Telford (1757-1834). Frontispiece of Atlas to the Life of Thomas Telford, Civil Engineer containing eighty-three… read more »

William Murdock: The Incomparable Mechanic William Murdoch (1754 -1839) was one of most creative and least known… read more »

Image: Ticket for the French Revolution Dinner, Birmingham 14 July 1791. The Dinner began the chain of events… read more »

Image: Joseph Wright of Derby (1734-1797). Oil on canvas. Image from: Derby Museum & Art Gallery Wright… read more »

Image: Title page from vol. I of James Dodsley’s 1765 edition of Shenstone’s works. His brother, Robert… read more »

[From “Poetical Works of Anna Seward, Vol 2”] [176] ADDRESS TO WOMAN. FROM THE ITALIAN. Designed for… read more »

Image: Joseph Wright of Derby (1734-1797). Oil on Canvas. The air pump was invented by Otto von… read more »

Samuel Johnson described Lichfield as a “city of philosophers” where Erasmus Darwinwas the most prominent of an outstanding group of… read more »

Image: Engraving of Erasmus Darwin M.D. Birmingham Central Library 3. Anna Seward and Erasmus Darwin 1756 saw the… read more »

Image: Frontispiece from Llangollen Vale with other Poems by Anna Seward, London, Third Edition, 1796 Birmingham Central Library 5. Anna… read more »

Image: The West Front of Lichfield Cathedral Lantern Slide, Birmingham Central Library 1. Anna Seward and her World… read more »

Image: Samuel Johnson’s Birthplace, Lichfield Lantern Slide, Birmingham Central Library 2. Anna Seward and Lichfield Society So, how… read more »

Image: Engraving of Richard Lovell Edgeworth Birmingham Central Library 4. Anna Seward, Richard Lovell Edgeworth, Thomas  Lichfield and… read more »

Text: Marion Roberts Image: Engraving of Anna Seward [Image from Birmingham Central Library] Summary Anna Seward was an accomplished and… read more »

Image from: Joseph Priestley Collection by Samuel Timmins, Birmingham City Archives.

Image from: Joseph Priestley Collection by Samuel Timmins, Birmingham City Archives.

Image: Map from ‘A Description of the Leasowes, the Seat of the late William Shenstone, Esq’, by… read more »

HOLIDAY AT SOHO MANUFACTORY. It is much to the honour of the workmen at Soho, that, in… read more »

To the Inhabitants of the Town of Birmingham. Friends and Fellow Townsmen, IT is with extreme concern… read more »

To the Rev. Dr. PRIESTLEY. Quid minus utile fuit quam ulcus hoc tangere? REV. SIR, TO deplore… read more »

To the Printer of the Birmingham Gazette. SIR, I DO not now write to complain of my… read more »

Photograph: David Remes (2003) Darwin’s drawing of 1777 represents an artificial bird (a goose) with flapping wings Let… read more »

Atlas to the Life of Thomas Telford, Civil Engineer containing eighty-three copper plates, illustrative of his professional… read more »

Image: Portrait of John Baskerville (1706-1775), Type Founder and Printer, painted by James Millar in 1774. Oil… read more »

Image: Portrait of John Baskerville (1706-1775), Type Founder and Printer, painted by James Millar in 1774. Oil… read more »