The Lunar Men: The Friends Who Made the Future 1730-1810

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James Watt (1736 – 1819), of Boulton and Watt, developed the world beating steam engines that provided the power for the new factories that were springing up across the country.

Schofield, Robert E. (1963), The Lunar Society of Birmingham: a social history of provincial science and industry in eighteenth-century England, Oxford: Clarendon Press Can you imagine being in a room with this group -- with these makers of the Industrial Revolution -- with these people genuinely asking how to improve their world? The historian Jacob Bronowski looks at the Lunar Society and says, The society also lost several major figures over the period: Richard Lovell Edgeworth ceased regular involvement in the society's activities when he returned to Ireland in 1782, [41] John Whitehurst died in London in 1788, [41] and Thomas Day died the following year. [41] Most significantly, Erasmus Darwin moved to Derby in 1781, but although he complained of being "cut off from the milk of science", he continued to attend Lunar Society meetings at least until 1788. [42] Decline 1789–1813 [ edit ] The Priestley riots of 1791 King-Hele, Desmond George (31 July 1992). "Shelley and science". Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London. 46 (2): 257. doi: 10.1098/rsnr.1992.0025. ISSN 0035-9149. PMID 11623027. S2CID 43302716– via The Royal Society Publishing.

Members of the Lunar Society.

Join us on Wednesday, November 29, 2023 at 19:00 GMT to discuss the future shape of transport in the West Midlands.

Porter, Roy (2000), Enlightenment: Britain and the Creation of the Modern World, London: Penguin Books (published 2001), ISBN 0-14-025028-X Over the last 20 years, the Society has played a key role in influencing the development of several initiatives such as Aston Reinvestment Trust, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Water Hall Gallery of Modern Art, Science Capital, leadership programmes for young people and on the development of the city/region’s transport and climate change strategy. In more recent times a new Lunar Society [47] was formed in Birmingham by a group led by Dame Rachel Waterhouse. Its aim is to play a leading part in the development of the city and the wider region. [48]William Murdoch (1731 – 1802), worked for Boulton and Watt and was the inventor of the gas light. He ended his days living at the court of the Shah of Persia, where he was believed to be an incarnation of Marduk, the ancient god of light.