![Lord moulton](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Lord_moulton.jpg)
John Fletcher Moulton, Baron Moulton, (18 November 1844 – 9 March 1921) was an English mathematician, barrister, judge and
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
politician. He was a
Cambridge Apostle
The Cambridge Apostles (also known as ''Conversazione Society'') is an intellectual society at the University of Cambridge founded in 1820 by George Tomlinson, a Cambridge student who became the first Bishop of Gibraltar.W. C. Lubenow, ''The ...
.
Early life
Moulton was born in
Madeley, Shropshire, England, as one of six children of a scholarly minister of the
Wesleyan Methodist Church, James Egan Moulton. He was sent to
Kingswood School
(''In The Right Way Quickly'')
, established =
, closed =
, type = Independent
, religious_affiliation = Methodist
, president =
, head_label = Headmaste ...
at the age of 11 where he excelled at academic subjects. He achieved the top marks in the
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
and
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...
Local Examinations and achieved a scholarship to
St John's College, Cambridge, graduating
Senior Wrangler
The Senior Frog Wrangler is the top mathematics undergraduate at the University of Cambridge in England, a position which has been described as "the greatest intellectual achievement attainable in Britain."
Specifically, it is the person who a ...
in 1868 and winning the
Smith's Prize.
He was at one point judged to be one of the twelve most intelligent men in the United Kingdom.
Career
After a brilliant mathematical career at Cambridge and election to a Fellowship, Moulton became a London barrister, specialising in patent law. He also experimented on electricity and was elected a
Fellow of the Royal Society
Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemat ...
. A great advocate for medical research, he was the first chair of the
Medical Research Council. He was awarded the French
Legion of Honour
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...
for his work in establishing international units for measuring electricity.
Moulton became a
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
Member of Parliament successively for
Clapham
Clapham () is a suburb in south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (most notably Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth.
History
Early history ...
1885–86,
South Hackney
South Hackney is an area of Hackney in London, England within the Borough of Hackney. It is about northeast of Charing Cross.
The Mossbourne Victoria Park Academy on the corner of Victoria Park Road and Lammas Walk utilises the buildings of ...
1894–95, and
Launceston 1898–1906.
He backed the attempts of
Gladstone to solve the problems in Ireland through
Irish Home Rule
The Irish Home Rule movement was a movement that campaigned for self-government (or "home rule") for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was the dominant political movement of Irish nationalism from 1870 to the e ...
. In 1906 Moulton was made
Lord Justice on the
Court of Appeal and
Privy Councillor. In 1912 he entered the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...
with a
life peerage
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages A ...
and the title, created on 1 October, Baron Moulton, of
Bank
A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets.
Because ...
in the
County of Southampton
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire is ...
.
The
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
gave Lord Moulton his greatest challenge. In 1914 he became chairman of a committee to advise on the supply of explosives, a difficult problem because the British had only a feeble organic chemistry industry. Before long Moulton became Director-General of the Explosives Department, first in the War Office and later in the Ministry of Munitions. He mobilised a brilliant group of administrators and scientists who expanded production more than 20-fold— throughout the war there was more explosives than shells to hold them. They also made fertilizers, and in 1917 became responsible for producing poisonous gases. Though loyal to orders, Moulton believed that poison gas was a departure from civilised warfare.
During the entire four war years Lord Moulton worked a ten-hour day and took less than ten days holiday. On weekends he drove about the country to inspect munitions plants and to locate sites for new ones. He was awarded the
Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as o ...
in 1915,
the
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
in 1917,
the
Etoile Noir of France, the
Order of Leopold (Belgium) and was the last person to receive the
Order of the White Eagle before the collapse of the Russian monarchy.
Moulton also corresponded with
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended ...
.
After the war, despite pressure to lead the expansion of the British chemical industry, he returned to his love: the law. He died in London on 9 March 1921.
In July 1924, The Atlantic published an impromptu speech Lord Moulton had given at the Authors' Club in London a few years prior to his death: "Law and Manners."
Law And Manners
/ref> In it, he addresses "the domain of Obedience to the Unenforceable."
Family
He married Clara Thomson née Hertz (widow of Robert William Thomson
Robert William Thomson PRSSA FRSE (29 June 1822–8 March 1873), from Stonehaven, Scotland, was the inventor of the fountain pen and original inventor of the pneumatic tyre.
Life
He was born on 29 June 1822 in Stonehaven in the northeas ...
) on 24 April 1875. She died in 1888.
Arms
See also
* Rev. Dr. James Hope Moulton
The Reverend James Hope Moulton (11 October 1863 – 9 April 1917) was a British non-conformist divine. He was also a philologist and made a special study of Zoroastrianism.
Biography
His family had a strong Methodist background. His father was ...
, nephew
* Rev. Dr. William Fiddian Moulton
William Fiddian Moulton (14 March 1835 – 5 February 1898) was an English Methodist minister, biblical scholar and educator.
Biography
William's father, James Moulton, was a Wesleyan Methodist minister and he had at least three other brothers, ...
, brother
*Rev. Dr. James Egan Moulton, brother
*Dr. Richard Green Moulton
Richard Green Moulton (5 May 1849 – 15 August 1924) was an English professor, author, and lawyer.
Biography
Richard Green Moulton was born in England in 1849. He was the brother of William Fiddian Moulton, John Fletcher Moulton, and James Ega ...
, brother
*Rev. James Egan Moulton Jr, nephew
Notes
External links
*
Speech
from John Silber about John Fletcher Moulton (1995)
''Notes Rec. R. Soc.'' 20 December 2009 vol. 63 no. 4 355–363, "John Fletcher Moulton and Guglielmo Marconi: bridging science, Law and industry
* Science and War (Rede Lecture, 1919)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moulton, John Fletcher Moulton, Baron
1844 births
1921 deaths
20th-century English judges
English mathematicians
Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge
Presidents of the Cambridge Union
Law lords
Fellows of the Royal Society
People educated at Kingswood School, Bath
Hackney Members of Parliament
UK MPs 1885–1886
UK MPs 1892–1895
UK MPs 1895–1900
UK MPs 1900–1906
UK MPs who were granted peerages
John Fletcher
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies
Senior Wranglers
Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Launceston
Members of London County Council
Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire
Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Life peers created by George V