William Lucas Sargant (1809–89)

Educational reformer and political economist. Entered Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1832; left to join his father’s military arms manufacturing business in Birmingham in 1834. Active in the Birmingham Education Association, founded in 1857 to improve elementary education; promoted the National Education League from 1870; chairman of Birmingham School Board, 1870–3. Made many contributions to the Proceedings of the Statistical Society, and published monographs, including Economy of the labouring classes (1857), and Recent political economy (1867).