When Josiah Wedgwood had part of an injured leg amputed, he encouraged his workers to celebrate the anniversary as St Amputation Day. This remarkable man from Stoke on Trent built a pottery empire that made him famous round the world. He's nominated here, on location, by the former MP for Stoke Central, Tristram Hunt, now head of the Victoria and Albert museum in London. The programme includes an interview with the head of Royal Staffordshire, Norman Tempest, plus readings from Brian Dolan's biography, The First Tycoon.

Tristram Hunt's latest book is called The Radical Potter.

The presenter is Matthew Parris, the producer for BBC audio in Bristol is ex-Stoke resident Miles Warde