His most notable invention was the earliest form of carbon paper, a method of creating duplicate paper documents, which he called "stylographic writer" or Noctograph.
He was the eldest son of the potter Thomas Wedgwood II (1734–1788) and his wife Elizabeth Taylor.
In 1808, he married for a third time, to Mary Anne Copeland, and they had three children: Trianne, Maria and William.
Ralph was the cousin and business partner of Josiah Wedgwood.
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