Born July 12, 1730, in Burslem, Staffordshire; died Jan. 3, 1795, in Etruria, near Burslem. English pottery designer and manufacturer. One of the leading representatives of classicist decorative applied arts.

The son of a potter, Wedgwood worked in Stoke-on-Trent from 1752 and in Burslem from 1759. In 1769 he built the village of Etruria and its ceramic-ware factory. Wedgwood invented and perfected various types of high-quality ware, including basaltes, jasperware, and cream-colored ware known as queensware. His factory, which employed the sculptor and artist J. Flaxman, produced ware of severe form, decorative furniture ornaments, and plaquettes primarily from jasper stoneware clay of pastel blue, light green, violet, or black color and with white reliefs in the Roman style.