Josiah Wedgwood

Wedgwood married his third cousin, Sarah Wedgwood in January 1764. The couple was blessed with eight children.

On January 3, 1795, Wedgwood passed away from cancer of the jaw. Three days later, he was buried in the parish church of Stroke-on-Trent.

Posthumously, a locomotive was named after Wedgwood. It ran on the Churnet Valley Railway.

Josiah Wedgwood was the youngest child born to Thomas and Mary Wedgwood on July 12, 1730 in Burslem, Staffordshire. He had ten elder siblings.

Young Wedgwood was born in a family that were traditionally potters since 17th century. As such, it was only natural for Wedgwood to follow suit.

Following the death of his father in 1739, he engaged himself in the family’s pottery business. He apprenticed under his eldest brother, Thomas Wedgwood IV. Soon, he became a skilled potter.

Josiah Wedgwood’s health was a matter of concern since early age. He was struck with a bout of smallpox at a young age. The disease left him with an amputated right leg.

Following the weakened knee, he was unable to work the foot pedal of a potter’s wheel. As such, he concentrated his energy on designing pottery. He became involved with potter craft.

Wedgwood began his career by working under Thomas Whieldon, a renowned English potter of that time. His skill and talent at pottery soon elevated him from an employee of Whieldon to the latter’s business partner in 1754.

As Whieldon’s business partner, Wedgwood’s career flourished. He excelled at the then pottery techniques and soon began experimenting with other varied techniques as well.

In 1759, Wedgwood terminated his partnership with Whieldon to set up his own business at Burslem. Initially, he opened his work at his cousin’s Ivy House Factory. Wedgwood aimed at transforming the crockery industry, replacing the clumsy wares by durable and simple ones.

His business gained a magnificent start as the cream-colored earthenware gained remarkable limelight. The then Queen Charlotte was so enticed by his collection that she made him the royal supplier in 1762. Having received the Queen’s patronage, Wedgwood’s collection soon became popularly known as ‘Queen’s Wares’ and was greatly in demand.

Wedgwood’s pottery collection became a standard domestic pottery and enjoyed a worldwide market due to its highly durable and serviceable nature. The huge demand for his products led to expansion of his enterprise from British Isles to Continent. For meeting the demand, Wedgwood expanded his business to the nearby Brick House factory

Wedgwood first jumped to limelight with his cream-colored earthenware collection that enticed then Queen Charlotte. She was so impressed by his efficiency of turning the clumsy crockery into durable and serviceable piece that she hired him as the royal supplier. The patronage earned from the queen led his collection to be titled, ‘Queen’s wares’

Wedgwood most successful innovation came with the discovery of basalt and jasperware. While basalt was a hard, stone-like material, jasperware was a durable unglazed ware.

He invented the pyrometer, a device that is to measure the extremely high temperatures that are found in kilns during the firing of pottery