Matthew Boulton (1728-1809) was an English manufacturer and business partner of Scottish engineer James Watt. When Watt's business partner, John Roebuck, was unable to pay a debt to Boulton, he accepted Roebuck's share of Watt's patent as settlement. He lobbied Parliament to extend Watt's patent for an additional 17 years, enabling the firm to market Watt's steam engine. The firm installed hundreds of Boulton & Watt steam engines in Britain and abroad. Boulton was a key member of the Lunar Society, a group of men prominent in the arts, sciences, and theology who have been credited for developing concepts and techniques in science, agriculture, manufacturing, mining, and transport that laid the groundwork for the Industrial Revolution. Boulton also founded the Soho Mint. His cartwheel pieces were well designed and difficult to counterfeit, and included the first striking of the large copper British penny. |