Matthew Boulton, A man from future

Matthew Boulton,  (3 September 1728 – 17 August 1809) was an English manufacturer and business partner of Scottish engineer James Watt. In the final quarter of the 18th century the partnership installed hundreds of Boulton & Watt steam engines, which were a great advance in the state of the art, making possible the mechanization of factories and mills. Boulton applied modern techniques to the minting of coins, striking millions of pieces for Britain and other countries, and supplying the Royal Mint with up-to-date equipment.

Born in Birmingham, England in 1728, His father, a manufacturer of small metal products who died when Boulton was 31. By then Boulton was already managing the business for several years. In 1761 he decided to expand his business considerably and acquired land at Handsworth, some two miles from the Birmingham town Centre, and began building the Soho. He adopted the latest techniques, branching into a silver plate, ormolu and other decorative arts. He became associated with James Watt when Watt's unsuccessful business venture was bought by Boulton. He also successfully lobbied in London to extend Watt's patent of the Steam Engine for an additional 17 years, enabling the firm to market Watt's steam engine. The Soho assembled and installed hundreds of Boulton & Watt steam engines in Britain and abroad, initially in the mines and then in factories.

Boulton was a key member of the Lunar Society, a group of Birmingham-area men prominent in the arts, sciences, and theology. Members included Watt, Erasmus Darwin, Josiah Wedgwood and Joseph Priestley. The Society met each month on the full moon at Soho House.  Members of the Society have been given credit for laying the groundwork for the Industrial Revolution through their research and ideas in science, agriculture, manufacturing, mining, and transport .

Matthew Boulton in 1788 created the Soho Mint  in his the manufactory in   Handsworth, Birmingham. His main aim was to improve the poor state of Britain's coinage, after several years of effort he obtained a contract in 1797 to produce the first British copper coin. His "cartwheel" pieces were well-made and hard to forge. He retired from business in 1800, but continued to run his mint until his death in 1809.