Samuel Greg

About

This late 18th and early 19th-century English entrepreneur and owner of the Quarry Bank Mill textile company was one of the first factory owners to institute the industrial use of steam power and the water wheel.

Before Fame

A native of Belfast, Northern Ireland, he relocated to England shortly after his eighth birthday and was raised by his wealthy merchant uncle, Robert Hyde. Greg took over the Quarry Bank Mill in the 1780s.

Trivia

In the early 1830s, after suffering a near-fatal injury from a run-in with a stag on the grounds of his factory, he retired from the textile business.

Family Life

His marriage to fellow Unitarian Hannah Lightbody resulted in a total of thirteen children.

Associated With

He was a contemporary of spinning mule inventor and fellow textiles entrepreneur Samuel Crompton.