William Cotton (banker)

William Cotton ( born September 12, 1786 in Leyton, † December 1, 1866 in Leytonstone ) was an English inventor, businessman, philanthropist and director of the Bank of England from 1842 to 1845.

Life

Cotton went to Leyton in the Chigwell School to school. His father was Joseph Cotton, Deputy Master of Trinity House in 1803, and director of the British East India Company. His brother, John Cotton, later became director and chairman of this company.

1807 Cotton partners in the Tauwerkmanufaktur Huddart & Co. in Limehouse, where he was later to 1838 General Manager. In 1842 he became a director in the Bank of England, only the normal period of two years, then with an extension of a third year. In recognition of his services with the introduction of the new Statute of the Bank from 1844

Cotton was a member of the Royal Society since 1821. During his life, he advocated for the Woodard schools and for new churches in the eastern part of London.

The Cotton - scale

During his time at the bank, he developed a machine for weighing gold sovereigns, which was able to weigh 23 coins per minute with an accuracy of one ten-thousandth of a grain, the so-called Cotton scales, magnetic scales (Cotton Balance). This scale measures the magnetic field of the coins not only with great accuracy, but also speed. The magnetic field causes the weight of the substance increases seemingly. A magnetic sample is drawn by an inhomogeneous magnetic field and measuring the corresponding force. Coins, which had a low weight to have been secreted by the machine.

There is also a Cotton - scale, also a magnetic balance which has been invented by French View in 1900 by Aimé Cotton ( 1869-1951 ).

Works

• Everybody's Guide to Money Matters: with a description of the various investments chiefly dealt in on the stock exchange, and the mode of dealing Therein ( English ) 1898