He was born in 1754 at Bridgend, Glamorganshire, the second son of William Morgan, a surgeon practising in that town, by his wife Sarah, sister of Dr. Richard Price.
[1] An intention of taking holy orders in the Church of England was abandoned, owing to the death of his father and the poverty of his family.
His religious views also changed, and he soon became, under the guidance of his uncle, Richard Price, a student at the dissenting academy at Hoxton, where he remained for several years.
He sympathised with the revolution in its earlier stages, and held very optimistic views as to human progress, believing that the mind could be so developed as to receive, by intuition, knowledge which is now attainable only through research.
In 1791, following the death of Dr Price, he hoped for his position as preacher at the Gravel-pit meeting-house at Hackney, but, unsuccessful, he retired to Southgate, a village a few miles to the north.
[1] Morgan gained a high reputation as a scientific writer, his best-known work being his Lectures on Electricity, which he had delivered to the students at Hackney.