Samuel Touchet facts for kids
Samuel Touchet (born around 1705 – died May 28, 1773) was an English businessman who worked with cotton. He was a manufacturer and also a politician.
Samuel Touchet was born in Manchester, England. His father was also involved in the cotton business. Samuel started his career by working for his father's company in London. He became very successful at importing raw cotton from places like the Levant (an area in the Middle East) and the West Indies. He was so good at it that other manufacturers in Manchester started to worry he might try to control the entire cotton supply!
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Samuel Touchet and Cotton Spinning
Helping New Inventions
In 1742, Samuel Touchet became involved with two inventors from Birmingham, Lewis Paul and John Wyatt. These inventors had created the first machines that could spin cotton using mechanical power. This was a big deal for the time! Samuel Touchet received a special permission to use 300 of Wyatt's spinning machines.
Early Cotton Mills
By 1744, Touchet and a business partner named Bowker set up these machines at a place called Touchet's Mill in Birmingham. They worked with Paul and Wyatt to get the mill running. We don't know much about how this specific mill did, but it must have been successful enough. Later, Touchet was able to get the rights to use another mill, Marvel's Mill in Northampton. This mill was also one of the early cotton factories that used Paul and Wyatt's machines.
Samuel Touchet's Other Businesses
Expanding His Empire
As Samuel Touchet became very rich in the 1750s, he started investing in many different types of businesses. He got involved in shipping, which means moving goods by sea. He also worked as an insurance broker, helping people get insurance for their businesses. He even invested in the sugar trade.
A Member of Parliament
In 1761, Samuel Touchet became a Member of Parliament (MP) for a town called Shaftesbury. This meant he was a representative in the British government. However, his businesses faced big problems during a financial crisis that same year. By 1763, his creditors (people he owed money to) took over his business. Even though his business struggled, Samuel Touchet remained an MP until 1768. He passed away on May 28, 1773.
