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Curated category

18th-century English businesspeople

  • Thomas Payne (publisher)Thomas Payne entered the world around 1718 in the small town of Brackley, Northamptonshire. This English bookseller and publisher would later reshape…
  • Daniel BournDaniel Bourn filed a patent application in 1748 for a carding machine that used rotating cylinders. This specific mechanism replaced older hand-cranking…
  • Richard ArkwrightRichard Arkwright opened a small shop on Churchgate in Bolton during the early 1760s. He worked as a barber and wig-maker for local customers.
  • Daniel DefoeDaniel Defoe was born in Fore Street, London, during the summer or early autumn of 1660. His family name was originally Foe, and he later added the…
  • Matthew BoultonMatthew Boulton was born on the 3rd of September 1728 in Birmingham, England. His father, also named Matthew, ran a small workshop specializing in buckles…
  • John Wilkinson (industrialist)John Wilkinson entered the world in Little Clifton, Cumberland, during 1728. His father Isaac worked as a potfounder at the local blast furnace.