Captain George William Manby, English soldier, author and inventor, 1813.

Stipple engraving by T Blood after an original painting by Samuel Lane. George William Manby (1765-1854) is best known for developing apparatus for saving lives at sea. Following a major storm in February 1807, in which 67 people were killed off the coast of Norfolk near Yarmouth, Manby invented a device for firing rope from the ship to the shore, from where a lifeboat could be launched to save the victims. He later made improvements to lifeboats and invented a fire extinguisher and a device for catching people who jumped from burning buildings. He was made a fellow of the Royal Society in 1831. Published in the 'European Magazine' in 1813.