April 12, 2021

Forum Podcast “Invention, Innovation, and the British Industrial Revolution” with Anton Howes

 

Guest: Anton Howes – Historian of Innovation

In this episode, Anton Howes – head of innovation research at The Entrepreneurs Network, discusses the history of invention in Britain with host Nicolas Wittstock. Anton argues that Britons were infected with an “improving mentality” some time in the 15-hundreds. As a result, inventors created networks, shared research, and assisted each other in their efforts to improve anything they could. The results of this mindset shift are still with us today, as we reap the benefits of steady technological improvements, medical breakthroughs, and the resulting prosperity.

Related work and links mentioned:

Anton Howes: The Spread of Improvement: Why Innovation Accelerated in Britain 1547–1851

Anton Howes: Arts and Minds: How the Royal Society of Arts Changed a Nation

Anton Howes: The Age of Invention Substack

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