Gents Mag 1813 part 2 p.298

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	introduction
	list, 1st qtr 19th century
	Gentleman's Magazine 1813 part 2 p.298
obituary   William Close
	Obituary, William Close Obituary At Dalton in Furness, Lancashire, of a consumption, by which he was attacked soon after Christmas, aged 39, Mr. Wm. Close, surgeon and apothecary; deservedly esteemed for his candour, sincerity, and benevolence, and for his diligent attention to the duties of his profession. He composed and published several writings of great merit upon various subjects, but chiefly on philosophy and the arts. In Nicholson's Journal he has detailed the particulars of many inventions and discoveries, which display great talents and originality of invention. The learning he derived from education was obtained before he was ten years of age, and Lilly's Grammar was the only book he was taught at school. In 1805 he published a new edition of West's 'Antiquities of Furness,' newly arranged; abridging the redundant matter, and adding a Supplement, containing much new and valuable information. In 1810, he laid before the Society of Arts and Manufactures his improvements in the trumpet, bugle, and French horns, for which the Society awarded him the gold medal. He, however, declined accepting it, and sold the instruments to Mr. Percival, music-seller, who obtained a patent for them. These instruments, in their improved state, are distinguished by the name Polyphonian; and the improvements consist in their being rendered almost as comprehensive in their scales as the German flute, by means of tubular appendages, which are furnished with secret ducts for carrying off the water, and they are played by the fingers. - He was buried, at his own request, at Walney, in a spot of ground upon which he had often played when a boy.

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