Charles Gascoigne

Industrialist
Charles Gascoigne was a British industrialist at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.

His father-in-law was Samuel Garbett, one of the founders of the Carron Company where he was employed first as an assistant (in 1763) and after a few years as manager (in 1769). The company had problems with the quality of its iron, and Gascoigne introduced many improvements in the technique of production. In 1761 the company produced first iron cannon and in 1772 produced 1000 tons of cannon for the Russian admiralty. However, Gascoigne undergone the personal bankruptcy and to improve his financial situation he left for Russia in 1787. There he became manufacturer of ordnance to Russian empress Catharina the Great. He remained in Russia for the following twenty years and became known as Karl Karlovich Gaskoin (Карл Гаскойн). Gascoigne improved many existing Russian iron foundries and built new ones, as well as the Russian's cannon-manufacturing techniques. He was also a head of all mines and foundries in Karelia, including the mines at Petrozavodsk. For his services Gascoigne was rewarded with high rank and great wealth. He died in 1806 and was buried in Petrazavodsk.