He was the second son of Joseph Tylor, brassfounder, by his wife, Harriet Skipper, and elder brother of the anthropologist Edward Burnett Tylor. Although he was interested in science, the early death of his father compelled him to devote himself to his business, which he entered in his sixteenth year.
His parents being members of the Society of Friends, he was educated in Quaker schools near London. He studied in spare time, attaching himself to Saint Bartholomew"s Hospital to improve his knowledge of anatomy.
He frequently visited the continent, going to Italy, Spain, and Russia, both for business and for scientific purposes with other geologists. During the latter part of his life he lived at Carshalton. He died on 31 December 1884, on his return from a visit to America.
In 1871 Ruskin enrolled the Tylor family in his project to "cleanse" a spring and pool of the River Wandel near the Tylors" house, and Isabella Tylor became very active in this project in the coming years.
