Egerton Smith
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Egerton Smith (19 June 1774 – 18 November 1841)[1] was a Liverpool publisher, founder of the Liverpool Mercury.
Egerton Smith was the son of Egerton Smith the elder (died 1788) and Ann Prescott. He joined his mother and then his brother in the family firm, making navigational instruments, and took out a patent for one invention in 1809.[2] However, he increasingly turned towards printing and publishing. He founded the Liverpool Mercury newspaper in 1811, and a weekly magazine, The Kaleidoscope, in 1818. Smith was also active in founding mechanics institutes[3] and became a well-known local philanthropist.[4]
He was one of the founders of the Strangers' Friend Society, a local charity which helped the poor at their homes.[1]
His grandson was Egerton Smith Castle F.S.A., an author, antiquarian, and swordsman, and an early practitioner of reconstructed historical fencing.