Author Description

Biographical and technological history of Sir Titus Salt (1803-1876), son of Daniel Salt and Grace Smithies. Titus moved as a youth in 1822 to Bradford in Yorkshire County, and married Caroline Whitlam in 1830. He was ever alert to the possibilities of new materials and methods in the textile trade and in weaving. He devised methods to weave Donskoi wool (from Russia), alpaca wool (he wove some of this for Queen Victoria), and mohair fibre (a fibre dating from Biblical times). He was knighted for his contributions to the development of the textile trade. After he achieved enormous wealth, he created Saltaire as a company town near Bradford, Yorkshire. When asked why by a nobleman, he replied: "You are a nobleman with all the influence that rank and large estates can bring. Consequently you have power and influence in the country. But outside of my business I am nothing. In it, I have considerable influence. By the opening of Saltaire, I also hope to do good to my fellow men"--Page 2.