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John Mercer
- Favourite Briton.

Born in Blackburn, Lancashire
Born on 21st of February 1791
Died in 1866

Mercer was born in Great Harwood in very humble circumstances, relying for his education on the help of a neighbour. Of an enquiring mind Mercer became an expert in dyeing techniques, discovering Antimony Orange among other things. He is most famous today for the method of treating cotton (and some other natural textile materials) that incorporates his name – mercerisation, by which the cloth treated is made lustrous. Mercer became a rich man, and was a great benefactor to the town of his birth.

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