Abraham Wivell

Abraham Wivell (1786 – 29 March 1849) was a British portrait painter, writer and pioneer of fire protection, credited with inventing the first effective fire escape system. After working as a hairdresser, Wivell established himself as a society portrait painter before concentrating his efforts on fire safety measures.

Art engraving by Wivell depicting Roger O'Connor holding a crown. O'Connor claimed to be the rightful king of Ireland Born in Marylebone, London, Wivell was forced to work from an early age after his father died leaving his mother in poverty. He worked on a farm from the age of six, and did various jobs in London as a child. In 1799, he was apprenticed to a wigmaker, which at the time was part of normal hairdressing. After completing his seven-year apprenticeship, he set up his own hairdressing salon.

Initially an amateur artist, he advertised his skills by showing portrait miniatures he had painted in his hairdressing shop window. By this means he gained commissions for portrait drawings and paintings, aided by the support of Joseph Nollekens and James Northcote. Unfortunately, Wivell lost a great deal on money on the venture, as the cost of printing such a richly illustrated work far exceeded the sales. Wivell designed a portable fire escape, which could be brought to buildings and erected rapidly.

He created demonstration models of the design to illustrate a series of lectures on fire-fighting that he gave in 1836. The ladder was mounted on a wheeled chariot. Once at the scene, a fly ladder was swung into position with ropes. A rescued person could be quickly passed down through a canvas chute that hung below the ladder, allowing a rapid flow of escapees. 85 fire escape stations were established in London by the society containing escape ladders on the Wivell design. Other cities also acquired Wivell's design. In 1849 he died of Bronchitis in Birmingham.

Wivell was married twice and had fourteen children. He was survived by ten of his children. His oldest son, also called Abraham Wivell, was also a successful painter.