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

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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

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Member of Parliament successively for

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1885–86,

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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

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and the title, created on 1 October, Baron Moulton, of

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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

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