(b London, 1714; d Paris, 3 March 1788). French weaver of English birth. He was the son of Jacques Neilson, a sea merchant of Scottish origin domiciled in London, and of Marie Maguiel. He moved to France at an early age and initially resided with his uncle Gilbert Neilson, a Paris surgeon, in the Rue Dauphine, later inheriting his estate (1761).