William Martin (philosopher)

[1][2] Martin in 1814 was presented with the Isis silver medal by the Society of Arts for the invention of a spring weighing machine, with circular dial and index.

[1] With marriage, at this period he became the representative "local character" and pamphleteer in Newcastle upon Tyne, the eccentric inventor documented at the end of the 19th century by Richard Welford.

He dressed oddly, sold his books and exhibited his inventions, which included models for a lifeboat and a lifebuoy, a miners' lamp, a self-acting railway gate, and a design for a high-level bridge over the River Tyne.

[1] John Bailey Langhorne described him as "perfectly cracked but harmless", and recalled how he used to wear his Society of Arts medal in public.

[1] Martin's last years were passed at his brother John's house in Chelsea, London, where he died on 9 February 1851.