Originally published on July 4, 2022 (Episode 271)
Introduction
William Small is little remembered today. When he is, it is to note that he was Thomas Jefferson’s tutor at the College of William and Mary. But as Martin Clagett demonstrates in A Spark of Revolution: William Small, Thomas Jefferson, and James Watt; The Curious Connection Between the American Revolution and the Industrial Revolution (Clyde Hill, 2022), Small’s life was much more than a footnote.
A Scotsman and polymath, Small was steeped in moral philosophy, medicine, and mechanics. In Williamsburg, he educated a generation of revolutionary leaders, including Jefferson. Back in Britain, he became part of Birmingham’s vibrant intellectual scene, linking Matthew Boulton with James Watt and his steam engine. So central was Small to that collaboration that, had he lived longer, he would have shared in the royalties that powered Britain’s Industrial Revolution. He was thus at the nexus of two revolutions: one political, one industrial.
About the Guest
Martin Clagett is also the author of Scientific Jefferson, Revealed, and has spoken widely about the intellectual worlds of Jefferson, Small, and their contemporaries.
For Further Investigation
Martin Clagett, A Spark of Revolution: William Small, Thomas Jefferson, and James Watt (Clyde Hill, 2022)
Martin Clagett, Scientific Jefferson: Revealed (Virginia, 2009)
Martin Clagett speaks at Monticello about some of his wide-ranging research
Jenny Uglow, The Lunar Men: The Friends Who Made the Future, 1730–1810 (Faber & Faber, 2002)
💬 Listen & Discuss
William Small bridged the Atlantic and stood at the meeting point of political and industrial transformation. Do you think history has overlooked him unfairly? Share your thoughts in the comments—and send this episode to a friend who enjoys finding the hidden figures of history.
