William Hutchinson

Who was William Hutchinson?

William Hutchinson was an English mariner, privateer, author, and inventor who developed parabolic reflectors for lighthouses and helped establish possibly the world's first lifeboat station.

Hutchinson was a seaman by the late 1730s, serving on an East Indiaman trading in India and China. After service in the Royal Navy, he entered the employ of merchant and privateer Fortunatus Wright. Hutchinson was captured by the French in 1746 in the Perl, but by 1748 was master of the St. George, which captured a French ship. A voyage in 1750 as captain of Wright's Lowestoft ended in shipwreck, and Hutchinson later claimed that only a timely rescue saved him from being eaten by the survivors in his lifeboat, as he had drawn the short straw. After time ashore in Liverpool, he later returned to privateering, captaining the 22-gun frigate Liverpool.

In 1759, Hutchinson was appointed dockmaster at Liverpool, and he held this and other positions at the harbour until 1793.