The Lunar Society was a remarkable group of gifted polymaths who met monthly near Birmingham, England from 1765 to 1813. They were interested in both science and its practical applications to manufacturing, transportation, medicine and more. Some notable members included Matthew Boulton, James Watt, Erasmus Darwin, and Josiah Priestley. The group was influential in both scientific discovery and the advancement of the Industrial Revolution in England during the late 18th century.

1. The Lunar Society

2. The tea time inspired the Industrial Revolution.
And what if everyone drank tea and drank it in
chinese cups of porcelain? What if everyone in
England could dress like hight society?

3. Soho
House
• The Lunar Society was a remarkable
grouping of gifted polymaths who met
every month in Birmingham (Soho
house) on the Monday nearest the
full moon (when there was most light
to travel home by) from 1765 until
1813.
• It has been written that 'The Lunar
Society was second only to the Royal
Society in its importance as a
gathering place for
scientists, inventors and natural
philosophers during the second half
of the eighteenth century'. In fact, it
was more than that. These men were
interested not merely in science, but
especially in the application of
science to
manufacturing, mining, transportatio
n, education, medicine and much else.
They were, if you like, the
revolutionary committee of the
Industrial Revolution.

5. The Lunar Society members

6. Matthew Boulton 1728–
1809
• English
manufacturer
and business
partner of
Scottish
engineerJames
Watt.
• Boulton &
Watt steam
engines

7. Erasmus Darwin 1731 – 1802
• English
physician. natural
philosopher, physio
logist, slave-trade
abolitionist, invent
or and poet.
• A copying machine
(1778).
• Charles Darwin`s
grandfather.

8. Thomas Day (1783–1789)
• A British author
and abolitionist. He
was well known for
the children's
book The History of
Sandford and
Merton (1783–1789)
which emphasized
Rousseauvian
educational ideals.

9. Richard Lovell Edgeworth
1744 – 1817
Anglo-
Irish politician, wr
iter and inventor.
Road construction

10. Samuel Galton 1753 -
1832
• A Quaker he was
an arms
manufacturer. He
was a member of
the Lunar
Society and lived
at Great Barr
Hall.

11. James Keir 1735-1820
• AScottish chemist,
geologist, industr
ialist, and
inventor, and an
important member
of the Lunar
Society of Birming
ham.
• An important
inventor and
industrialist, maki
ng contributions
to an
understanding of

12. Joseph Priestley 1733 –
1804
• English
theologian, Dissenti
ng clergyman, natu
ral
philosopher, chemis
t, educator, and pol
itical theorist who
published over 150
works. He is
usually credited
with the discovery
of oxygen ,

13. William Small
1734 – 25 February 1775
• He was
Scottish, he was
appointed
Professor of
Natural
Philosophy at
the College of
William and
Mary in Virginia, t
hen one
of Britain’s
American
colonies.

14. Jonathan Stokes 1755 –
1831
• An English
physician and
botanist, a
member of
the Lunar
Society of
Birmingham, and
an early
adopter of the
heart

15. James Watt 1736 –1819
• A Scottish
inventor
and mechanical
engineer whose
improvements to
theNewcomen
steam engine were
fundamental to
the changes
brought by
the Industrial
Revolution in both
his native Great

16. Josiah Wedgwood 1730 –
1795
• An English potte
r, founder of
the Wedgwood co
mpany, credited
with
the industrialisa
tion of the
manufacture
of pottery. He
was the
grandfather
of Charles
Darwin and Emma

17. John Whitehurst 1724 –
1792
• An English civil
engineer responsibl
e for the design
of bridges, canals,
harbours andlight
houses. He was also
a
capable mechanica
l engineer and an
eminent physicist.
Smeaton was the
first self-
proclaimed civil
•

18. William Withering 1741 – 1799
• An English botanis
t, geologist, chemi
st, physician and
the discoverer
of digitalis.

19. James Brindley 1716 – 1772
He was born
in Tunstead, Derby
shire, and lived
much of his life
in Leek, Staffords
hire, becoming one
of the most
notable engineers
of the 18th
century.

20. Benjamin Franklin 1706-
1790
• A world-
famous polymath, Frankli
n was a leading
author, printer, political
theorist, politician, post
master, scientist, invento
r, civic
activist, statesman, and
diplomat. As a
scientist, he was a major
figure in the American
Enlightenment and
the history of physics for
his discoveries and
theories regarding
electricity. As an
inventor, he is known for
the lightning
rod, bifocals, and
the Franklin
stove, among other

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