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Ed. Not too unlike the Hellenstic inventor Archimedes and his patron Hiero II of Syracuse, or 20th century technologists such as Bob Noyce and William Shockley, brothers Samuel and Jeremy Bentham were a pair of functionalist Georgian characters. While Jeremy is well known for his contributions to the Reform Movement and utilitarian philosophy, the younger brother Samuel, a prototypical early steam-era inventor and Royal Navy engineer, in the mold of predecessors such as Thomas Slade and Charles Middleton, or successors like Sir Robert Seppings and Sir Nathaniel Barnaby, is less well known. The authors herein examine Samuel Bentham’s life and work. A 30 minute read.

The latest book reviews have been published, covering a history of those ships named HMS London, a two-volume look at the […]

Ed. The author surveys the naval career of John Perkins, a black Jamaican and contemporary of Nelson, whose buccaneering career in the Caribbean met with considerable success and embodied the Royal Navy’s trade interdiction mission in those waters. A 15 minute read.