1734-1775

English-American scientist who helped found the "Lunar Society" in 1764, an organization that brought together some of England's finest engineers and inventors. The members of the Lunar Society (called Lunatics) included John Roebuck, James Watt, Joseph Priestly, Josiah Wedgewood, John Wilkinson, and corresponding participant Benjamin Franklin, among others. This important association facilitated exchanges and collaboration among scientists, leading to many inventions that made the Industrial Revolution possible. Small also had a profound influence on Thomas Jefferson as his teacher.