Taylor was the son of
John and
Susannah Taylor. He was the brother of
Philip Taylor.
Business interests Many of Taylor's business interests were backed by the
Martineau family. In 1796 he improvised a mechanised copper ore crusher at
Wheal Friendship, a mine just outside
Tavistock, Devon. This machine was improved over time and became widely adopted; it was known as the "Cornish rolls". In 1812 Taylor set up as a chemical manufacturer at
Stratford, Essex. One of Taylor's interests was sugar refining, for which he took out a patent in 1815 for a pressure method for separation of sugar from
molasses. The use of heated animal oils in sugar processes disclosed the production of
naphtha. Taylor took out another patent in 1815, for decomposing animal oils into gas. This discovery led Taylor & Martineau into 1823 to what Philip Taylor's son later wrote of as "the battle of the gases": the commercial contest between
gas lighting derived from coal and from oils. John Taylor's direction in the 1820s, however, was back into mining. He was also mineral agent to the
Duke of Devonshire and to the commissioners of
Greenwich Hospital. In 1836 he erected a new engine at
Penrhyn Du and held a lease from 1838
Intellectual life In 1807 Taylor was elected a Fellow of the
Geological Society, and acted as treasurer from 1816 to 1844. In 1825 he was elected a Fellow of the
Royal Society, and was one of the founders of the
British Association on 26 June 1832, holding the office of treasurer till September 1861. He was one of the founders of
University College London, to which he acted as treasurer for many years. ==Works==