Discover the extraordinary life of Lt-Col. Charles Hamilton Smith.
He earned the grudging praise of Napoleon, undertook some of the first experiments in the British military to determine which colours would be most effective in uniforms and was an inspiration in 19th Century costume design to West End impresarios including William Macready at the Drury Lane theatre.
Born in 1776 in what is now Belgium, Hamilton Smith was Honorary President of The Athenaeum when he died in 1859 in Plymouth.
The Lecture was given by Athenaeum Chief Executive, Owen Ryles, who is a Fellow of the Linnean Society, Zoological Society and the Royal Society of Arts on Thursday, March 7 2019.