Who has appeared on the £50 note? From James Watt to Christopher Wren
As the Bank of England is looking at who to put on its new £50 note, we take a look at who has already appeared
THE Bank of England is currently consulting on who to put on the new £50 note from the world of science.
Lots of names have been put forward including Alexander Graham Bell and Ada Lovelace but Margaret Thatcher has also been nominated. We take a look at who has previously appeared on the note.
Sir Christopher Wren
While the first £50 note was introduced in 1725 but the Bank of England stopped production in 1943 and didn’t start production again until 1981.
The first note of the modern era was mainly olive green on both sides with an image of Wren on the back.
The illustrious architect was born in 1632 and designed 54 churches in Britain, most notably St Paul’s Cathedral in London.
He was also involved in rebuilding the City of London after the Great of London.
Wren was knighted on November 14, 1673 and died in 1723.
Sir John Houblon
A new £50 note was introduced in 1994 which was predominantly reddish in colour and featured the first Governor of the Bank of England which had been established 300 years before.
Houblon held a number of notable titles including Lord Mayor of the City of London in 1695 and was Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty for five years from 1694.
He became the central bank’s first Governor in 1694, a position he held until 1697.
The design on the note also includes in image of Houblon’s house on Threadneedle Street, where the current Bank of England stands.
James Watt and Matthew Boulton
The most recent £50 note was issued in 2011 and features two people James Watt and Matthew Boulton.
The Scottish inventor Watt was born in 1736 and most noted for developing the Watt steam engine.
He designed a separate condenser which vastly improved the efficiency of previous designs.
Despite his revolutionary design it wasn’t until he went into partnership with Boulton in 1775, forming the firm Boulton and Watt, did fame and fortune arise.
Born in 1728, Boulton was a manufacturer and with Watt’s design installed hundreds of steam engines across the country, which allowed for the mechanisation of factories and mills, helping to bring the industrial revolution.
Boulton also founded the Soho Mint to improve the quality of Britain’s coinage which produced the first copper coinage in 25 years. He died in 1809.