John Joseph Merlin

John Joseph Merlin
Portrait of John Joseph Merlin by Thomas Gainsborough, 1781[1]
Born
Jean-Joseph Merlin

(1735-09-06)6 September 1735
Huy, Liège Province
Died8 May 1803(1803-05-08) (aged 67)
Paddington, London
NationalityBelgian

John Joseph Merlin (born Jean-Joseph Merlin, 6 September 1735 – 8 May 1803) was a Freemason, clock-maker, musical-instrument maker, and inventor from the Prince-Bishopric of Liège in the Holy Roman Empire.[2][3][4] He moved to England in 1760. By 1766 he was working with James Cox and creating automatons such as Cox's timepiece and the Silver Swan. By 1773 he was designing and making innovative keyboard instruments.[2] In 1783 he opened Merlin's Mechanical Museum in Princes Street, Hanover Square, London, a meeting-place for the gentry and nobility.[2][5][6][7] In addition to his clocks, musical instruments and automata, Merlin is credited with the invention of inline skates in the 1760s. He was referred to by contemporaries as "The Ingenious Mechanic". He was friendly with composer Joseph Haydn.[4][8]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Bryant was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Debenham was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Palmieri was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b Incledon, Charles Benjamin. "John Joseph Merlin: The Celebrated Mechanic". Broadsheet. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Altick was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Johnson was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Hebbert was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cobb, James (January 1803). "Died". The Monthly Mirror: 360. Retrieved 15 July 2018.