Peter Finch Martineau (12 June 1755 – 2 December 1847)[1][2] was an English businessman and a philanthropist, with particular interest in improving the lives of disadvantaged people through education.

The eldest son Peter (1785–1869) married first Eliza Barnard and secondly Mary Anne (1794–1882), the sister of his schoolmate Sir Francis Ronalds.

[2][11] The family in addition invested in mining operations in Devon, Cornwall and overseas, managed by Peter Jr's second cousin John Taylor.

[12] Peter Finch was an early Governor of the African Institution, founded by abolitionists when they succeeded in making the British slave trade illegal.

He helped establish the School for the Indigent Blind in 1800 and was still chairing its meetings nearly half a century later – the organisation continues today as SeeAbility.

Peter Jr played an active role in the Anti-Corn Law League from its beginnings in the late 1830s, where he chaired large meetings in the boroughs where he lived and worked to garner support for the removal of import duties.