Matthew Boulton

Matthew Boulton was an English businessman, inventor, mechanical engineer and silversmith whose visionary enterprises helped shape the Industrial Revolution. Born on 3 September 1728 in Birmingham, he was the son of a small‑scale metal‑products manufacturer who died when Matthew was thirty‑one, leaving him to helm and dramatically expand the family workshop. By his early twenties Boulton had already demonstrated an inventive flair, creating an enamel‑inlay technique for buckles that captured the French market, and by his mid‑twenties he was effectively running the business. In 1761 he secured a 13‑acre site at Soho, where he built the famous Soho Manufactory, a pioneering industrial complex that combined Palladian architecture with the latest metal‑working technology, producing silver plate, ormolu‑decorated vases, Sheffield‑plate, and a wide array of decorative items. His partnership with James Watt, begun after Boulton acquired John Roebuck’s share of Watt’s patent in 1774, led to the creation of the Boulton & Watt firm, which installed hundreds of steam engines that powered mines, mills and factories across Britain and abroad, dramatically increasing industrial productivity. Boulton also founded the Soho Mint, introducing steam‑driven coin‑presses that produced the iconic “cartwheel” copper coins, dramatically reducing counterfeiting and stabilising the British monetary system during the crisis of the 1790s. As a leading member of the Lunar Society, he collaborated with luminaries such as Erasmus Darwin, Josiah Wedgwood and Joseph Priestley, fostering a climate of scientific inquiry and practical invention. Beyond industry, Boulton was a civic benefactor: he helped establish Birmingham General Hospital, financed the New Street Theatre, and supported charitable institutions like the General Dispensary. His legacy endures in museums, blue plaques, a £50 Bank of England note and a bronze statue that commemorates his lasting impact on engineering, finance and British society.