Several years later, Fulton would be accused of passing off plans for Cartwright's cordelier as his own – something which he denied vehemently. And the American artist-cum-entrepreneur-cum-inventor left us something priceless, the best portrait we have of his English counterpart.

Disillusioned by his lack of success with mechanics, Cartwright must have shown little hesitation in 1800 when the Duke of Bedford offered to make him manager of an experimental farm on his estate at Woburn in Bedfordshire.

For the next seven years he carried out various experiments while also acting as the Duke's chaplain. His work on artificial manures here was considered so important that in 1805, he was awarded a gold medal by the Board of Agriculture for an essay on the subject.

Cartwright estimated that his efforts at mechanical invention had cost him in the region of £30,000, which included the loss of the family estate at Marnham.

So when in 1809, at the behest of a group of wealthy cotton manufacturers that included Sir Robert Peel, the Government awarded him £10,000 for his ingenuity and effort, it was no more than he deserved.

The award did, however, enable him to give up his Woburn appointment and retire to a small farm that he bought for himself at Hollander, near Sevenoaks in Kent.

Here he saw out his days in reasonable comfort, but he never lost his interest in invention. The last machine on which he worked was intriguing – an engine powered by explosives.

It may sound dangerous and bizarre, but consider this: isn't that precisely how today's internal combustion engine works?