Browse Times
1756-1764
1756
Erasmus Darwin moved to Lichfield to practice medicine.
1758
William Small was appointed Professor of Natural Philosophy at William and Mary College, Virginia, where he taught Thomas Jefferson. Erasmus Darwin met Matthew Boulton. Benjamin Franklin visited Birmingham and met Boulton, Darwin and Whitehurst.
1759
Beginning of the construction of the Bridgewater Canal by James Brindley.
1761
Joseph Priestley joined the staff at Warrington Academy. Opening of the Bridgewater Canal. Its economic success encourages canal development in the Midlands. John and Charles Wood at Wednesbury took out patents in 1761 and 1763 for converting pig iron into wrought iron.
1763
Coventry was the first town in the West Midlands to secure an act establishing town commissions to collect a rate for better paving, lighting and cleaning. The Treaty of Paris with France confirmed Britain’s colonial dominance in Canada and India. James Hargreaves invented the Spinning Jenny.
Articles in this time period
Photograph of portrait of Joseph Priestley
Image from: Joseph Priestley Collection by Samuel Timmins, Birmingham City Archives.
Photograph of portrait of Joseph Priestley at the age of 30
Image from: Joseph Priestley Collection by Samuel Timmins, Birmingham City Archives.
Photograph of Priestley House, Northumberland, Pennsylvania, from South-East, showing Priestley’s Laboratory
Image from: Joseph Priestley Collection by Samuel Timmins, Birmingham City Archives.
Photograph of scientific instruments
Image from: Joseph Priestley Collection by Samuel Timmins, Birmingham City Archives.
Priestley and John Wesley
Image: Portrait of John Wesley struck off by electricity by Joseph Priestley Image from: Birmingham City Archives, Priestley… read more »
Priestley and the Church of England
Image: Bishop Samuel Horsley, one of Priestley’s main Anglican opponents. Image from: Birmingham City Archives, Priestley Collection by Samuel… read more »
Priestley in Northumberland, Pennsylvania
Image: Joseph Priestley House, Northumberland, Pennsylvania, from the south-east showing Priestley’s laboratory Image from: Birmingham City Archives, Priestley Collection… read more »
Priestley’s Arrival in America
Image: Chemical Philosophers of the Present Day, Dr Priestley. The apotheosis of Joseph Priestley. The scientist ascends into… read more »
Priestley’s Death and long-term Reputation
Image: Gravestone of Dr Priestley in the Cemetery of Northumberland, Pennsylvania. “To the memory of the Rev Dr… read more »
Priestley’s Early Career
Image: The Earl of Shelburne, Priestley’s patron from 1772 to 1780 Image from: Birmingham City Archives, Priestley Collection by… read more »
Priestley’s Origins
Image: Birthplace of Joseph Priestley, Fieldhead, Leeds, Yorkshire. Image from: Birmingham City Archives, Priestley Collection by Samuel Timmins Joseph… read more »
Remains of a Cistercian monastery called White Ladies in Shropshire
From Picturesque Views of the Severn, 1824 by Thomas Harral
Rev. d’Ewes Coke and Family
Joseph Wright of Derby (1734-1797). Oil on canvas. Image from: Derby Museum & Art Gallery
Richard Greene and 18th Century Museums
Image: Portrait of Richard Greene. Stebbing Shaw, History and Antiquities of Staffordshire, Vol.1 (London, 1798). Image from: Local Studies and… read more »
Romeo and Juliet, the Tomb Scene
Joseph Wright of Derby (1734-1797). Oil on canvas. Image from: Derby Museum & Art Gallery
Russian Visitors to the English Midlands
Text: Olga Baird Image: Russian Medallion to commemorate the erection of Peter the Great’s statue in 1773. Peter the… read more »
Rydal Waterfall
Virgil was a famous Roman poet who died in 19 BC. His tomb was located in the… read more »
Self Portrait at the age of 20 by Joseph Wright
Joseph Wright of Derby (1734-1797). Oil on canvas. Image from: Derby Museum & Art Gallery
Sir John Floyer and Lichfield
Image: South-west view of Lichfield, an eighteenth century print engraved by J Ryland and published in John Jackson, History… read more »
Sir Richard Arkwright: Industrialist
The art of portraiture was changing during the Industrial Revolution. The expansion of commerce and industry in… read more »
Sir Richard Arkwright: Industrialist
Image: Portrait of Sir Richard Arkwright (1789-1790). Joseph Wright of Derby, Oil on Canvas. Text: Olga Baird… read more »
Study of Fragment of a Classical Frieze, Rome (1774)
Image: Joseph Wright of Derby (1734-1797), Pencil, pen and grey ink and grey wash. Image from: Derby Museum &… read more »
Taking Snuff
Image: Portrait of Queen Charlotte, wife of George III, on the inside of an Enamel snuff box celebrating… read more »
The “Bear Pit”, Cromford, Derbyshire
Known to locals as the “Bear Pit”, this example of hydraulic engineering was constructed in 1785 by… read more »
The Earthstopper on the Banks of the Derwent
Joseph Wright of Derby (1734-1797), Oil on Canvas Image from: Derby Museum & Art Gallery
The Greyhound Pond, Cromford, Derbyshire
The pond was a man-made dam created in about 1785 to provide the main source of water… read more »
The Loom Shop, Cromford, Derbyshire
This three-storey building was probably Sir Richard Arkwright’s loom shop and was built between 1776 and 1786.… read more »
The occurrences of common life: Samuel Johnson, Practical Science and Industry in the Midlands
Image: 18th Century Birmingham trade token (n.d.). H Biggs halfpenny with a bust of Dr Samuel Johnson and… read more »
Three Ladies Adorning the Term of Hymen (The Montgomery Sisters)
Thomas Watson (1743 – 1781) after Sir Joshua Reynolds
Upper Mill, Cromford, Derbyshire
The photograph shows four buildings. The Upper Mill in the centre was constructed in 1771 as a… read more »
Vassilii Pushkin: a Collector of Books
Image: Portrait of John Baskerville (1706-1775), Type Founder and Printer, painted by James Millar in 1774. Oil on… read more »
Village of Ashelworth, Gloucestershire on the banks of the Severn
From Picturesque Views of the Severn, 1824 by Thomas Harral
Wenlock Abbey, Shropshire, three miles from the Severn
From Picturesque Views of the Severn, 1824 by Thomas Harral
William Shenstone, The Leasowes, and Landscape Gardening
William Shenstone was born in 1714 and died in 1763. His fame rests on his reputation as… read more »
