Born 1730.—Died 1795.—George II.—George III.

Born at Burslem, in Staffordshire, the son of a potter. Wedgwood had the merit of instituting an entirely new era in the manufacture of English pottery. By intelligent observation, the study of chemical appliances, and unwearied industry, he worked a complete revolution in the making, glazing, and painting of earthenware and china. His pottery-works in Staffordshire, ‘Etruria,’ became celebrated all over the world, and he earned for himself and his family great wealth as well as distinction. His delicate manufacture of embossing white figures on a coloured ground, called ‘Wedgwood ware,’ is well known and much prized. He first gave the impetus to the Staffordshire and other potteries which has enabled England to rival the first china manufactories in the world.