Josiah Wedgwood, English potter, 1780s.

Medallion of Josiah Wedgwood (1730-1795) the English potter responsible for the large-scale technical and artistic development of English pottery in the 18th century. Among his many achievements, Wedgwood was the first potter to use steam power. He also perfected cream ware (later called 'Queen's ware') and developed his own highly succesful Wedgwood pottery. Wedgwood supported many other innovations including road improvement and canal-building in the Potteries. In 1766-9 he built a new works, a mansion for himself and a village for his workers, which he called Etruria.