Person Galton; Samuel (1753 - 1832); gun maker and local politician Galton Samuel gun maker and local politician 1753 - 1832 British Male Duddeston, Birmingham, Warwickshire, England 18 June 1753 17530618 Dudson House, Duddeston, Birmingham, England 19 June 1832 18320619 Burial: Quaker burial-ground, Bull Street Meeting House, Birmingham.

Steelhouse Lane, Birmingham; Hagley Row, Birmingham (1782); Barr, Staffordshire (1785); Dudson House, Duddeston (1799)

gun maker and local politician Optics Education: Warrington Academy (1768) Career: Appointed manager of the gun business (1755); became partner in the firm (1756); active in the midlands canal network and along with Matthew Boulton and the physicians John Ash and William Small, a proprietor of the Birmingham Canal Navigation Company in which he invested sizeable sums (1767); joined his father’s ‘accompting house’ (1770); served as one of fifty commissioners named in the first Improvement Act of 1769 to address the quality of Birmingham streets; joined the Lunar Society of Birmingham (1781), considered by James Watt as a possible source of investment; demonstrated that the colours in Newton's prism, drawn in the correct proportions, created white when spun on a wheel (1782); contributed to a fund to aid Priestley's research (1782); became a guardian of the poor, and a member of the town's commercial committee (1783); endowed 30 beds for the town’s recently founded General Hospital (1790); supplied large quantities of arms to the government and to the East India Company and the firm’s premises extended beyond Steelhouse Lane and the younger Samuel Galton's personal wealth increased from £10,000 in 1775 to £35,716 (1783); possessed a fortune of £140,748 (1803); defended his business but in vain as he was disowned by the meeting (1796) although he and his wife continued worshipping at the Bull Street meeting-house; stopped maintaining his gun-making business and established a bank in partnership with Joseph Gibbins, and later with Paul Moon James (1806); the firm of Galton and James continued to exist until its closure by Samuel Tertius (June 1831) following the disruption of the banking crisis of 1826–7; died in Dudston and as one of Birmingham’s wealthiest individuals left an estate worth £300,000, and made bequests of £4000 per annum to his three surviving sons. Taught by Joseph Priestley Memberships: Lunar Society Linnean Society Parents: Samuel Galton (1720–1799), haberdasher and later gun maker, originally from Bristol, and Mary, née Farmer (1718–1777). His mother was the daughter of Joseph Farmer (d. 1741) who had established an iron- and gun-making firm in Birmingham about 1702. Spouse: Lucy Barclay (1757–1817), daughter of Robert Barclay, and granddaughter of the Quaker linen merchant Robert Barclay (October 1777). Children: Five sons and three daughters; their eldest child, Mary Anne, achieved note as a writer [see Schimmelpenninck, Mary Anne], while their eldest son, Samuel Tertius (1783–1844), later inherited the family business. Grandchildren: Sir Francis Galton (FRS 1860) Son-in-law: Erasmus Darwin's daughter Violetta Father-in-law of Erasmus Darwin's daughter Violetta; grandfather of Sir Francis Galton (FRS 1860) Faced disapproval and opposition from Birmingham Quakers in relation to the nature of his business, who criticised the Galtons for profiteering from warfare and slavery through the sale of guns to traders in west Africa. Fellow 08/12/1785 32 Richard Kirwan; Joseph Priestley; John Smeaton; Josiah Wedgwood; Timothy Lane; William Watson Junior Sources: Bulloch's Roll; DNB References: Robert E Schofield, 'The Lunar Society of Birmingham; A Bicentenary Appraisal' in NR 1966 vol 21 pp 144-161 International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families - ISAAR(CPF) - Ottawa 1996 ISBN 0-9696035-3-3 National Council on Archives, Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997 https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/l-and-p_7_262/paper-experiments-on-the-prismatic-colours-by-samuel-galton?page=1 1753 - 1832 The past Fellows entries are under continuous revision. If you have queries or additional information to contribute, please contact Library@royalsociety.org. Content in external sources is not controlled by the Royal Society and historical sources may include content that is now unacceptable. Reviewed on 06/03/2024 as part of the Name Authority Project update. NA3519 21/11/2001 Andyg Pmab 17/03/2026 RS_NET\VirginiaM Yes 28e6defe-1090-490d-9647-79df09774c90