Ralph Wedgwood (inventor)
Encyclopedia
Ralph Wedgwood was an English
inventor and member of the Wedgood family of potters. His most notable invention was the earliest form of carbon paper
, a method of creating duplicate paper documents, which he called "stylographic writer". He obtained a patent for the invention in 1806.
Wedgwood was born in Burslem
, Staffordshire
. He was the eldest son of the potter Thomas Wedgwood II (1734-1788) and his wife Elizabeth Taylor. He married thrice and was widowed twice. His first marriage was to Mary Yeomans in 1790 and they had two children, Mary and Ralph, but he was widowed in 1795. He remarried Sarah Taylor, they had a son Samuel (1800-1863) but she too died in 1807. In 1808 he married for a third time, to Mary Anne Copeland and they had three children, Trianne, Maria and William. His third wife survived him and died in 1867.
Ralph was the cousin and business partner of Josiah Wedgwood
. Funding for Ralph's inventions were provided by Josiah's eldest son, Josiah Wedgwood II
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
inventor and member of the Wedgood family of potters. His most notable invention was the earliest form of carbon paper
Carbon paper
Carbon paper is paper coated on one side with a layer of a loosely bound dry ink or pigmented coating, usually bound with wax. It is used for making one or more copies simultaneous with the creation of an original document...
, a method of creating duplicate paper documents, which he called "stylographic writer". He obtained a patent for the invention in 1806.
Wedgwood was born in Burslem
Burslem
The town of Burslem, known as the Mother Town, is one of the six towns that amalgamated to form the current city of Stoke-on-Trent, in the ceremonial county of Staffordshire, in the Midlands of England.-Topography:...
, Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
. He was the eldest son of the potter Thomas Wedgwood II (1734-1788) and his wife Elizabeth Taylor. He married thrice and was widowed twice. His first marriage was to Mary Yeomans in 1790 and they had two children, Mary and Ralph, but he was widowed in 1795. He remarried Sarah Taylor, they had a son Samuel (1800-1863) but she too died in 1807. In 1808 he married for a third time, to Mary Anne Copeland and they had three children, Trianne, Maria and William. His third wife survived him and died in 1867.
Ralph was the cousin and business partner of Josiah Wedgwood
Josiah Wedgwood
Josiah Wedgwood was an English potter, founder of the Wedgwood company, credited with the industrialization of the manufacture of pottery. A prominent abolitionist, Wedgwood is remembered for his "Am I Not A Man And A Brother?" anti-slavery medallion. He was a member of the Darwin–Wedgwood family...
. Funding for Ralph's inventions were provided by Josiah's eldest son, Josiah Wedgwood II
Josiah Wedgwood II
Josiah Wedgwood II , the son of the English potter Josiah Wedgwood, continued his father's firm and was Member of Parliament for Stoke-upon-Trent from 1832 to 1835...
.