author
William Hutton
1723–1815
From a childhood of factory work and poverty, this self-taught Birmingham bookseller turned himself into one of the city’s first great historians. His writing is valued for its lively, personal view of 18th-century life and for helping preserve the story of Birmingham as it grew.
1 Audiobook
An History of Birmingham (1783)
by William Hutton
About the author
Born in Derby in 1723, William Hutton had very little formal schooling and spent part of his childhood working in a silk mill. After moving to Birmingham, he built a successful career as a bookseller and paper merchant, a path that gave him the independence to read widely and begin writing for himself.
He became best known as the author of The History of Birmingham (1781), which made him the first major historian of the city. He also wrote on places, travel, and local history, and his work is still remembered for its clear, energetic style and for the way it mixes research with direct personal observation.
Hutton lived through dramatic times, including the Birmingham riots of 1791, which affected him deeply and later appeared in his autobiographical writing. He died in 1815, leaving behind a body of work that reflects both the determination of a self-made man and a lasting affection for the places he described.