Charles Spalding

Charles Spalding (29 October 1738 – 2 June 1783) was an Edinburgh confectioner and amateur engineer who made improvements to the diving bell. He died while diving to the wreck of the Belgioso in Dublin Bay using a diving bell of his own design. Early life Charles Spalding was born in Canongate in Scotland on 29 October 1738, the son of Charles Spalding and Ann Findlay. His father was a bookseller in Canongate. As the son of a merchant, the younger Spalding eventually became a shop-lad. Possessing a natural inclination towards mechanics, Spalding spent much of his free time as a youth exploring this interest. Spalding eventually became the proprietor of a sugar refining and confectionery shop across from the Royal Exchange on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh. Improvements to Halley's diving bell Spalding's introduction to diving was more the result of necessity than choice. Heavily invested in the brig Peggy, Spalding suffered a severe financial blow when she sank en route to Scotland at the Farne Islands on 4 December 1774. Elected by his Edinburgh trade guild to recover as many goods as possible, Spalding came up with the idea of diving to the wreck.