Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl Stanhope

Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl Stanhope (1753 to 1816), was a British statesman, inventor and scientist, educated at Eton and at the University of Geneva, where he studied mathematics under Georges Louis Le Sage. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in November 1772 and devoted a large part of his income to experiments in science and philosophy. His inventions include the first iron printing press, stereotype printing plates, a monochord for tuning instruments, improvements in canal locks and two calculating machines, the first made in 1775. In politics he was a democrat, known for standing alone in the House of Lords as a minority of one. This entry records his work on calculating machines.