Samuel Plimsoll

Samuel Plimsoll (10 February 1824 – 3 June 1898) was a British politician and social reformer, now best remembered for having devised the Plimsoll line (a line on a ship's hull indicating the maximum safe draught, and therefore the minimum freeboard for the vessel in various operating conditions). Its subsequent introduction in regulation resulted in a reduction of ship sinkings and a corresponding significant improvement in seafarer safety from the late 19th century onwards.

Early life

Samuel Plimsoll was born in Bristol in 1824. His Civil Servant father's promotions took him to Penrith in 1829 and to Regent Street, Sheffield in 1839. Leaving school at an early age, he became a clerk at Rawson's Brewery in the town. The managing partner there was Thomas Birks, who was also an Alderman on the town council. In 1849 he was elected as Mayor, and utilised Samuel as an assistant. One of his roles there was to coordinate the borough's many contributions to the 1851 Great Exhibition held at the Crystal Palace in London.

Seeking further opportunities, in 1853, he attempted to become a coal merchant in London. He failed and was reduced to destitution. He himself told how for a time he lived in a common lodging for seven shillings and two pence a week.

Through this experience, he learnt to sympathise with the struggles of the poor, and when his good fortune returned, he resolved to devote his time to improving their condition.

His efforts were directed especially against what were known as "coffin ships": unseaworthy and overloaded vessels, often heavily insured, in which unscrupulous owners risked the lives of their crews.

Political career

thumb|Plimsoll, by 1874

In 1867, Plimsoll was elected as the Liberal Member of Parliament for Derby, and endeavoured in vain to pass a bill dealing with the subject of a safe load line on ships. The main problem was the number of powerful ship-owning MPs in Parliament.

In 1873, he published a book entitled Our Seamen. It became well known throughout the country discussing the dangers of 'coffin ships' (ships that were highly insured in case of sinking, with minimum consideration given to seafarer safety). These ships were said to be overinsured and overloaded as a result.

Disraeli moved that he be reprimanded, but on the suggestion of Lord Hartington agreed to adjourn the matter for a week to allow Plimsoll time for thought.

thumb|right|Load Line Mark and Lines and Timber Load Line Mark and Lines for power driven merchant vessels

Eventually Plimsoll made an apology. Many people, however, shared his view that the bill had been stifled by the pressure of the shipowners, and popular feeling forced the government to pass a bill in 1876 was amended into the Merchant Shipping Act.

thumb|left|150px|[[Plimsoll Memorial|Memorial to Samuel Plimsoll on Victoria Embankment, London]]

This gave stringent powers of inspection to the Board of Trade, and the mark that indicates the safe limit to which a ship may be loaded became generally known as Plimsoll's mark or line. The improvements in safety resulted in fewer ship sinkings and seafarer deaths, with Plimsoll's reforms credited as "saving the lives of countless seaman." He married his second wife, Harriet Frankish, daughter of Mr. Joseph Armitage Wade, J.P., of Hull and Hornsea, in 1885. By this marriage there were six children, of whom a son, Samuel Richard Cobden Plimsoll, and two daughters survived him.

Legacy

thumb|right|Posthumous portrait of Plimsoll, executed by [[Reginald Henry Campbell in the late 19th century]]

In 1873, the Samuel Plimsoll, an iron hulled full-rigged merchant sailing ship, used as a Colonial Clipper, was launched at the shipyard of Walter Hood & Co. in Aberdeen, Scotland for the Aberdeen White Star Line (G. Thompson & Co.). She was assigned the official British Reg. No. 65097 and the signal MKDH. In 1899, she caught fire in the Thames River and had to be scuttled, but she was refloated and repaired in 1900. In 1902, she was severely dismasted and damaged en voyage to Port Chalmers, New Zealand. Towed to Sydney and subsequently to Fremantle, she was reduced to hulk status the following year.

In the 1920s, Plimsoll shoes were named for their similarity in appearance to the Plimsoll line on boats.

In Whitehall Garden, a Victoria Embankment garden, there is a monument to Samuel Plimsoll in front of the railings.

A monument bust of Plimsoll is located in his native Bristol, on the banks of Bristol Harbour in the Canons Marsh area.

British writer Nicolette Jones published The Plimsoll Sensation, a highly acclaimed biography – getting the idea for it from living in 1995 in Plimsoll Road in Finsbury Park, north London, but knowing hardly anything about whom it was named after. In 2024, on the 200th anniversary of Samuel Plimsoll's birthday, the book was updated with a new introduction to honour his legacy in improvements to ship safety.

Samuel Plimsoll appears in the third series of the BBC historical television drama The Onedin Line, portrayed by actor David Garfield.

Samuel Plimsoll's life and achievement is celebrated in a song written and sung by Bristol sea shanty group The Severn Whalers around festivals in and around the South West.

References

;Attribution

External links

"Our Seamen: An Appeal" by Samuel Plimsoll, 1873, at The Internet Archive
"The sailor's friend" (book review), The Economist, Jul 6th 2006 (payment required)
"The Plimsoll Sensation" (podcast), The British Library, Jul 7th 2006#
"The Bottom Line About Mr. Plimsoll", The Observer, 25 June 2006
Review of "The Plimsoll Sensation" in Bookworm on the Net, 2 July 2006
Re: Monument in Whitehall Garden. London Parks & Gardens Trust, London Gardens Online. See under heading 'Fuller Information', paragraph 'The south-western sections..'."