Teachers were also allowed to use corporal punishment, such as hitting pupils with a plimsoll or a stick.

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Samuel Plimsoll was born in Bristol on 10 February 1824, but died in the town of Folkestone 74 years later.

BBC: Samuel Plimsoll: Commemoration for the 'sailor's friend'

The cruel loss of life and the impoverished widows and children left behind inspired Plimsoll to take up the sailors' plight.

ECONOMIST: Maritime history

He is best remembered for creating the Plimsoll Line, which appears on the hull of seafaring ships to show safe loading limits, preventing accidents.

BBC: Samuel Plimsoll: Commemoration for the 'sailor's friend'

Plimsoll and his cause caught the public imagination: he was lauded in the Times, caricatured in Punch and Vanity Fair, and supported by Queen Victoria.

ECONOMIST: Maritime history

There is more Tassy creativity on display at the nearby waterfront Tasmanian School of Art, where the Plimsoll Gallery showcases innovative local, national and international contemporary art and design.

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After becoming the youngest boss of a publicly listed German company when he took over Puma in 1993, he transformed the firm from a near-bankrupt plimsoll-maker into a trendy high-street brand.

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Eventually, after six turbulent years, during which his health suffered, his sanity was questioned and libel cases piled up against him, Plimsoll's legacy was secured when the 1876 Merchant Shipping Act was passed.

ECONOMIST: Maritime history

The politician, known as the "sailor's friend", was so revered that for many years Plimsoll Day on 10 February was celebrated in various parts of the UK while 15 towns have streets named after him.

BBC: Samuel Plimsoll: Commemoration for the 'sailor's friend'