Lewis Weston Dillwyn, FRS (21 August 1778 – 31 August 1855) was a British porcelain manufacturer, naturalist and Whig

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP).

Biography

He was born in

Walthamstow Walthamstow ( or ) is a large town in East London, east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London and the Historic counties of England, ancient county of Essex. Situated northeast of Chari ...

, Essex, the eldest son of

William Dillwyn William Dillwyn (1743, Philadelphia – 28 September 1824) was a British American-born Quaker of Welsh descent, active in the abolitionist movement in colonial America and after 1774, Great Britain. He was one of the twelve committee members of ...

(1743–1824) and Sarah Dillwyn (née Weston). His father, a

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

had returned to Britain in 1777 during

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

's worst period in the

American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

and settled at

Higham Lodge Higham Lodge or Higham Hill Lodge was a building in Walthamstow built in the late 17th century. It was expanded by the William Dillwyn after he took over the building. Dillwyn married Susan Weston, who inherited nearby High Hill from her father Le ...

, Walthamstow, Essex, UK. William Dillwyn was a vociferous anti-slavery campaigner and toured England and South Wales in his work for the Anti-Slavery Committee. William Dillwyn was related to George Haynes through the Emlen and Physick families in Philadelphia and it is likely that the opportunity to buy the

Cambrian Pottery The Cambrian Pottery was founded in 1764 by William Coles in Swansea, Glamorganshire, Wales. In 1790, John Coles, son of the founder, went into partnership with George Haynes, who introduced new business strategies based on the ideas of Josiah ...

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

, Wales, from Haynes came about through these family connections in America. William's letters to his daughter Suzanna are held by the

Library Company of Philadelphia The Library Company of Philadelphia (LCP) is a non-profit organization based in Philadelphia. Founded in 1731 by Benjamin Franklin as a library, the Library Company of Philadelphia has accumulated one of the most significant collections of hist ...

and stored at the

Historical Society of Pennsylvania The Historical Society of Pennsylvania is a long-established research facility, based in Philadelphia. It is a repository for millions of historic items ranging across rare books, scholarly monographs, family chronicles, maps, press reports and v ...

. These letters show that the factory was bought by William to keep Lewis active while the latter was suffering from

gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of a red, tender, hot and swollen joint, caused by deposition of monosodium urate monohydrate crystals. Pain typically comes on rapidly, reaching maximal intensit ...

. The highlight of this period of production of Swansea Pottery was the opening by Lewis Weston Dillwyn and George Haynes of the Cambrian Company, the Swansea Potteries London Warehouse on Fleet Street which operated between 1806 and 1807. In 1814 the pottery took over the workforce of the

Nantgarw Pottery The Nantgarw China Works was a porcelain factory, later making other types of pottery, located in Nantgarw on the eastern bank of the Glamorganshire Canal, north of Cardiff in the River Taff valley, Glamorganshire, Wales. The factory made porcel ...

and began to make

porcelain Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises mainl ...

. Lewis Weston Dillwyn however was also renowned for his published works on

botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

and

conchology Conchology () is the study of mollusc shells. Conchology is one aspect of malacology, the study of molluscs; however, malacology is the study of molluscs as whole organisms, whereas conchology is confined to the study of their shells. It includ ...

, including his 1809 work '' The British Confervae'', an illustrated study of British freshwater algae. Dillwyn is credited with discovering several

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of the Conferva

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

. Among the botanical illustrators of ''The British Confervae'' are the artists

William Jackson Hooker Sir William Jackson Hooker (6 July 178512 August 1865) was an English botanist and botanical illustrator, who became the first director of Kew when in 1841 it was recommended to be placed under state ownership as a botanic garden. At Kew he ...

Ellen Hutchins Ellen Hutchins (1785–1815) was an early Irish botanist. She specialised in seaweeds, lichens, mosses and liverworts. She is known for finding many plants new to science, identifying hundreds of species, and for her botanical illustrations in ...

and

William Weston Young William Weston Young (1776–1847) was a British Quaker entrepreneur, artist, botanist, wreck-raiser, surveyor, potter, and inventor of the firebrick. Biography William Weston Young was born on 20 April 1776 at Lewin's Mead, Bristol, England ...

. He was elected in 1804 as 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 science, natural knowledge, incl ...

. In 1817 he temporarily retired from the pottery. In 1818 he became

High Sheriff of Glamorgan This page is a list of High Sheriffs of Glamorgan. Sheriffs of Glamorgan served under and were answerable to the independent Lords of Glamorgan until that lordship was merged into the crown. This is in contrast to sheriffs of the English shires wh ...

and was elected to the First Reformed Parliament in 1834 as MP for Glamorganshire. He bought

Sketty Hall Sketty Hall is a venue used for hosting social functions, business functions and conferences in Singleton Park, Swansea, south Wales. The original building was built in the early 18th century as a private house. Over the years it has seen a numb ...

near Swansea and was elected Mayor of Swansea in 1839. Dillwyn was also one of the founders of the Royal Institution of South Wales and its first President, and in 1840 he published a short history of Swansea.

He married Mary Adams, the daughter of Colonel John Llewelyn of Penllergaer, Llangyfelach in 1807. They had six children, including the noted photographer

John Dillwyn Llewelyn John Dillwyn Llewelyn FRS FRAS (12 January 1810 – 24 August 1882) was a Welsh botanist and pioneer photographer. Early life He was born in the parish of Llangyfelach, Swansea, Wales, the eldest son of Lewis Weston Dillwyn and Mary Dillwy ...

(1810–1882), MP for Swansea

Lewis Llewelyn Dillwyn Lewis Llewelyn Dillwyn (19 May 1814 – 19 June 1892) was a Welsh industrialist and Liberal politician who served as MP for Swansea for 37 years. Early life Dillwyn was born in Swansea, Wales, the fourth of six children of Lewis Weston Dillwy ...

(1814-1892) and pioneering female photographer

Mary Dillwyn Mary Dillwyn (1816–1906) is considered to be the earliest female photographer in Wales, who took photographs of flowers, animals, family and friends in the 1840s and 1850s. She provided a raw insight to the domestic lives of women and childr ...

(1816-1906). His granddaughters by his son Lewis were the novelist and industrialist

Amy Dillwyn Elizabeth Amy Dillwyn (16 May 1845 – 13 December 1935) was a Welsh novelist, businesswoman, and social benefactor. She was one of the first female industrialists in Britain. Born in Sketty, Swansea, Dillwyn was a member of a prominent family ...

, and

lepidopterist Lepidopterology ()) is a branch of entomology concerning the scientific study of moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies. Someone who studies in this field is a lepidopterist or, archaically, an aurelian. Origins Post-Renaissance, t ...

Mary De la Beche Nicholl Mary De la Beche "Minnie" Nicholl FES ( née Dillwyn; 25 June 1839 - 30 October 1922) was a lepidopterist and mountaineer. Family Nicholl was born in Swansea in 1839. She was the daughter of Lewis Llewelyn Dillwyn and Elizabeth (née De la B ...

. His granddaughter by John was the Welsh astronomer and pioneer in scientific photography

Thereza Dillwyn Llewelyn Thereza Dillwyn Llewelyn (1834 – 21 February 1926) was a Welsh astronomer and pioneer in scientific photography. Biography The eldest of six children, Llewelyn was born to photographer and botanist John Dillwyn Llewelyn and Emma Thomasina T ...

. He died in Sketty Hall, Swansea, in 1855. .

Honours

He is honoured in the names of several species including, '' Dillwynella'' which is a

sea snail Sea snail is a common name for slow-moving marine gastropod molluscs, usually with visible external shells, such as whelk or abalone. They share the taxonomic class Gastropoda with slugs, which are distinguished from snails primarily by the ...

marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

gastropod The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. T ...

mollusk Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is e ...

s in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Skeneidae named by Dall in 1889. ''

Dillwynia ''Dillwynia'' is a genus of about 20 species of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae, and is endemic to Australia. Plants in this genus are shrubs with simple leaves and yellow or red and yellow flowers similar to others in the family. Des ...

'', which is a genus of about 20 species of flowering plants in the family

Fabaceae The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomenc ...

, and is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to Australia, named by

Sm. __NOTOC__ Sir James Edward Smith (2 December 1759 – 17 March 1828) was an English botanist and founder of the Linnean Society. Early life and education Smith was born in Norwich in 1759, the son of a wealthy wool merchant. He displayed a ...

in 1805.

Taxa

Taxa named by Dillwyn include: * '' Lithopoma gibberosa'', a species of

References

ThePeerage.com

Biography

Biography

Honours

Taxa

See also

References

Further reading