James Watt
Inventor and Mechanical Engineer
Born	January 19, 1736(1736-01-19) Greenock, Firth of Clyde, Scotland
Died	August 25, 1819 [1] Handsworth, Staffordshire, England

James Watt (19 January 1736 – 25 August 1819^[1]) was a Scottish inventor and mechanical engineer whose improvements to the steam engine were fundamental to the changes brought by the Industrial Revolution. An inventor is a person who creates or discovers a new method form device or other useful means Mechanical Engineering is an Engineering discipline that involves the application of principles of physics for analysis Design, Manufacturing Events 1419 - Hundred Years' War: Rouen surrenders to Henry V of England completing his reconquest of Normandy. Year 1736 ( MDCCXXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Greenock ( Gaelic Grianaig g̊ɾʲiənɛg̊ʲ is a large town and former Burgh of barony in the Inverclyde Council area of western The Firth of Clyde forms a large area of coastal water sheltered from the Atlantic ocean by the Kintyre peninsula which encloses the outer Firth in Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Events 1248 - The Dutch city of Ommen receives city rights and fortification rights from Otto III the Year 1819 ( MDCCCXIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar in the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common year Handsworth ( is an inner city suburb of Birmingham in the West Midlands, England. Staffordshire (abbreviated Staffs) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Events 1419 - Hundred Years' War: Rouen surrenders to Henry V of England completing his reconquest of Normandy. Year 1736 ( MDCCXXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Events 1248 - The Dutch city of Ommen receives city rights and fortification rights from Otto III the Year 1819 ( MDCCCXIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar in the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common year Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. An inventor is a person who creates or discovers a new method form device or other useful means Mechanical Engineering is an Engineering discipline that involves the application of principles of physics for analysis Design, Manufacturing A steam engine is a Heat engine that performs Mechanical work using Steam as its Working fluid. The Industrial Revolution was a period in the late 18th and early 19th centuries when major changes in agriculture manufacturing and transportation had a profound effect on the

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Method and personality 1.2 Later years 2 Controversy 3 Legacy 4 Honours 5 Memorials 6 See also 7 References 8 Further reading 9 External links

Biography

James Watt was born on 18 January, 1746 in Greenpock, a seaport on the Firth of Clyde. The Firth of Clyde forms a large area of coastal water sheltered from the Atlantic ocean by the Kintyre peninsula which encloses the outer Firth in His father was a shipwright, ship owner and contractor, while his mother, Agnes Muirhead, came from a family and was educated. See also Shipbuilding (song. Shipbuilding is the construction of Ships It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a Both Presbyterians and Covenanters. Presbyterianism is a family of Christian denominations within the Reformed branch of Protestant Western Christianity The Covenanters formed an important movement in the religion and politics of Scotland in the 17th century

Watt school irregularly instead he mostly schooled at home by mother. Homeschooling (also called home education) home learning or homeschool  – is the education of children at home typically by parents or professional He great manual dexterity and an aptitude for mathematics, although Latin and Greek left him cold, and he absorbed the legends and lore of the Scottish people. Mathematics is the body of Knowledge and Academic discipline that studies such concepts as Quantity, Structure, Space and Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. The Ancient Greek language is the historical stage in the development of the Hellenic language family spanning the Archaic (c Scottish mythology may refer to any of the mythologies of Scotland. The Scots people ( Scots Gaelic: Albannaich) are a Nation and an Ethnic group indigenous to Scotland.

When he was 18, his mother died and his father's health had begun to fail. Watt travelled to London to study instrument-making for a year, then returned to Scotland – to Glasgow – intent on setting up his own instrument-making business. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. In the Physical sciences Quality assurance, and Engineering, Measurement is the activity of obtaining and comparing physical quantities Glasgow (ˈglæzgoʊ is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom However, because he had not served at least seven years as an apprentice, the Glasgow Guild of Hammermen (any artisans using hammers) blocked his application, despite there being no other mathematical instrument makers in Scotland. Apprenticeship is a system of Training a new generation of practitioners of a skill A guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade The earliest guilds were formed as confraternities of workers An artisan, also called a Craftsman, is a skilled manual worker who crafts items that may be functional or strictly decorative including furniture clothing A hammer is a tool meant to deliver an impact to an object The most common uses are for driving nails fitting parts and breaking up objects

Watt was saved from this impasse by three professors of the University of Glasgow, who offered him the opportunity to set up a small workshop within the university. The University of Glasgow (Oilthigh Ghlaschu was founded in 1451 in Glasgow, Scotland and along with its contemporary institutions the University of St Andrews It was established in 1758 and one of the professors, the physicist and chemist Joseph Black, became Watt's friend. A physicist is a Scientist who studies or practices Physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning A chemist is a Scientist trained in the Science of Chemistry. Joseph Black ( April 16, 1728 &ndash December 6, 1799) was a Scottish Physicist and Chemist, known for his

In 1764, Watt married his cousin Margaret Miller, with whom he had five children, two of whom lived to adulthood. She died in childbirth in 1772. In 1777 he married again, to Ann MacGregor, daughter of a Glasgow dye-maker, who survived him. She died in 1832.

Watt had a brother by the name of John. He was shipwrecked when James was 17.

Four years after opening his shop, Watt began to experiment with steam after his friend, Professor John Robison, called his attention to it. John Robison ( February 4, 1739  &ndash January 30, 1805) was a Scottish Physicist and Inventor. At this point Watt had still never seen an operating steam engine, but he tried constructing a model. It failed to work satisfactorily, but he continued his experiments and began to read everything about it he could. He independently discovered the importance of latent heat in understanding the engine, which, unknown to him, Black had famously discovered some years before. In Thermochemistry, latent heat is the amount of Energy in the form of Heat released or absorbed by a substance during a change of phase He learned that the University owned a model Newcomen engine, but it was in London for repairs. The atmospheric engine invented by Thomas Newcomen in 1712 today referred to as a Newcomen steam engine (or simply Newcomen engine was the first practical Watt got the university to have it returned, and he made the repairs in 1763. It too just barely worked, and after much experimentation he showed that about 80% of the heat of the steam was consumed in heating the cylinder, because the steam in it was condensed by an injected stream of cold water. A cylinder is the central working part of a Reciprocating engine, the space in which a Piston travels His critical insight, to cause the steam to condense in a separate chamber apart from the piston, and to maintain the temperature of the cylinder at the same temperature as the injected steam, came finally in 1765 and he soon had a working model. Condensation is the change of the physical state of aggregation (or simply state of matter from gaseous phase into liquid phase A piston is a component of Reciprocating engines Pumps and Gas compressors It is located in a cylinder and is made gas-tight by Piston

Now came a long struggle to produce a full-scale engine. This required more capital, some of which came from Black. More substantial backing came from John Roebuck, the founder of the celebrated Carron Iron Works, near Falkirk, with whom he now formed a partnership. This article is about the English inventor For the 19th century British politician see John Arthur Roebuck. The Carron Company was an Ironworks established in 1759 on the banks of the River Carron near Falkirk, in Stirlingshire, Scotland. Falkirk is also the name of the Scottish council area centred on the town see Falkirk (council area. But the principal difficulty was in machining the piston and cylinder. Iron workers of the day were more like blacksmiths than machinists, so the results left much to be desired. Iron (ˈаɪɚn is a Chemical element with the symbol Fe (ferrum and Atomic number 26 blacksmith is a person who creates objects from Iron or Steel by Forging the Metal; i Much capital was spent in pursuing the ground-breaking patent, which in those days required an act of parliament. A patent is a set of Exclusive rights granted by a State to an inventor or his assignee for a fixed period of time in exchange for a disclosure of an An Act of Parliament is a Law enacted as Primary legislation by a national or sub-national Parliament. Strapped for resources, Watt was forced to take up employment as a surveyor for eight years. Surveying is the technique and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional space Position of points and the distances and angles between Roebuck went bankrupt, and Matthew Boulton, who owned the Soho foundry works near Birmingham, acquired his patent rights. Matthew Boulton ( September 3, 1728 &ndash 18 August 1809) was an English Manufacturer and Engineer. Soho is an area in north west Birmingham, approximately 2 miles from the City Centre on the A41, which until 1911 formed part of Handsworth District A foundry is a Factory which produces Metal Castings from either Ferrous or non-ferrous alloys Birmingham ( ˈbɜːmɪŋəm Ber -ming-um Watt and Boulton formed a hugely successful partnership (Boulton & Watt), which lasted for the next twenty-five years. The firm of Boulton & Watt was initially a partnership between Matthew Boulton and James Watt.

Watt finally had access to some of the best iron workers in the world. The difficulty of the manufacture of a large cylinder with a tightly fitting piston was solved by John Wilkinson who had developed precision boring techniques for cannon making at Bersham, near Wrexham, North Wales. John "Iron-Mad" Wilkinson (1728 &ndash 1808 was an English Industrialist who suggested the use of Cast iron for many roles where other Bersham Ironworks were large ironworks at Bersham, near Wrexham, North Wales. Wrexham (Wrecsam is a town and principal area in Wales. It is the largest town in North Wales and lies to the east of the region North Wales (Gogledd Cymru is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales, bordered to the south by Mid Wales and to the east by England. Finally, in 1776, the first engines were installed and working in commercial enterprises. These first engines were used for pumps and produced only reciprocating motion. Orders began to pour in and for the next five years Watt was very busy installing more engines, mostly in Cornwall for pumping water out of mines.

The field of application of the invention was greatly widened only after Boulton urged Watt to convert the reciprocating motion of the piston to produce rotational power for grinding, weaving and milling. Although a crank seemed the logical and obvious solution to the conversion Watt and Boulton were stymied by a patent for this, whose holder, James Pickard, and associates proposed to cross-license the external condensor. James Pickard was an English inventor He modified the Newcomen engine in a manner that it could deliver a rotary motion Watt adamantly opposed this and they circumvented the patent by their sun and planet gear in 1781. The sun and planet gear (also called the planet and sun gear) was a method of converting reciprocal motion to Rotary motion and utilised a reciprocating Steam

Over the next six years, he made a number of other improvements and modifications to the steam engine. A double acting engine, in which the steam acted alternately on the two sides of the piston was one. A throttle valve to control the power of the engine, and a centrifugal governor to keep it from "running away" were very important. A centrifugal governor is a specific type of governor that controls the Speed of an Engine by regulating the amount of Fuel (or Working He described methods for working the steam expansively. A compound engine, which connected two or more engines was described. Two more patents were granted for these in 1781 and 1782. Numerous other improvements that made for easier manufacture and installation were continually implemented. One of these included the use of the steam indicator which produced an informative plot of the pressure in the cylinder against its volume, which he kept as a trade secret. Schematic indicator diagrampng|thumb|Indicator diagram for steam locomotive]] In the Technology of the Steam engine, the indicator diagram was a device developed A trade secret is a Formula, practice, Process, Design, instrument, Pattern, or compilation of Information which Another important invention, one of which Watt was most proud of, was the Parallel motion / three-bar linkage which was especially important in double-acting engines as it produced the straight line motion required for the cylinder rod and pump, from the connected rocking beam, whose end moves in a circular arc. This article concerns parallel motion in mechanics For parallel motion in music see the article Contrary motion. A mechanical linkage is a series of rigid links connected with joints to form a closed chain or a series of closed chains In Geometry, an arc is a closed segment of a Differentiable Curve in the two-dimensional plane; for example a circular This was patented in 1784. These improvements taken together produced an engine which was up to five times as efficient in its use of fuel as the Newcomen engine.

Because of the danger of exploding boilers and the ongoing issues with leaks, Watt was opposed from the first to the use of high pressure steam--all of his engines used steam at very low pressure.

In 1794 the partners established Boulton and Watt to exclusively manufacture steam engines, and this became a large enterprise. The firm of Boulton & Watt was initially a partnership between Matthew Boulton and James Watt. By 1824 it had produced 1164 steam engines having a total nominal horsepower of about 26,000. ^[2] Boulton proved to be an excellent businessman, and both men eventually made fortunes.

Method and personality

Watt was an enthusiastic inventor, with a fertile imagination that sometimes got in the way of finishing his works, because he could always see "just one more improvement. " He was skilled with his hands, and was also able to perform systematic scientific measurements that could quantify the improvements he made and produce a greater understanding of the phenomenon he was working with.

Watt was a gentleman, greatly respected by other prominent men of the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution was a period in the late 18th and early 19th centuries when major changes in agriculture manufacturing and transportation had a profound effect on the He was an important member of the Lunar Society, and was a much sought after conversationalist and companion, always interested in expanding his horizons. The Lunar Society was a dinner club and informal Learned society of prominent Industrialists natural philosophers and intellectuals who met regularly between He was a rather poor businessman, and especially hated bargaining and negotiating terms with those who sought to utilize the steam engine. Until he retired, he was always much concerned about his financial affairs, and was something of a worrier. His personal relationships with his friends and partners were always congenial and long-lasting.

Later years

Watt retired in 1800, the same year that his fundamental patent and partnership with Boulton expired. The famous partnership was transferred to the men's sons, Matthew Boulton and James Watt Jr. Longtime firm engineer William Murdoch was made a partner and the firm prospered.

Watt continued to invent other things before and during his semi-retirement. He invented a new method of measuring distances by telescope, a device for copying letters, improvements in the oil lamp, a steam mangle and a machine for copying sculptures.

He and his second wife travelled to France and Germany, and he purchased an estate in Wales at Doldowlod House, one mile south of Llanwrthwl, which he much improved. Llanwrthwl is a village near Rhayader in Powys, Mid Wales. Llanwrthwl Churchyard has a Prehistoric Standing stone about

He died on 25 August 1819 at his home "Heathfield" in Handsworth, Staffordshire, England at the age of 83. Handsworth ( is an inner city suburb of Birmingham in the West Midlands, England. Staffordshire (abbreviated Staffs) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland He was buried on 2 September.

Controversy

As with many major inventions, there is some dispute as to whether Watt was the original sole inventor of some of the numerous inventions he patented. There is no dispute, however, that he was the sole inventor of his most important invention, the separate condenser. It was his practice (from around the 1780s) to pre-empt others' ideas which were known to him by filing patents with the intention of securing credit for the invention for himself, and ensuring that no one else was able to practice it. As he states in a letter to Boulton of 17 August 1784:

"I have given such descriptions of engines for wheel carriages as I could do in the time and space I could allow myself; but it is very defective and can only serve to keep other people from similar patents". Events 986 - A Byzantine army was destroyed in the pass of Trajan's Gate by the Bulgarians under the Comitopuli Year 1784 ( MDCCLXXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year

Some argue that his prohibitions on his employee William Murdoch from working with high pressure steam on his steam road locomotive experiments delayed its development. William Murdoch (sometimes spelled Murdock) ( August 21, 1754 - November 15, 1839) was a Scottish engineer and inventor Watt, with his partner Matthew Boulton, battled against rival engineers such as Jonathan Hornblower who tried to develop engines which did not fall foul of his patents. This article is about steam engineer Jonathan Hornblower (1753-1815

Watt patented the application of the sun and planet gear to steam in 1781 and a steam locomotive in 1784, both of which have strong claims to have been invented by his employee, William Murdoch. The sun and planet gear (also called the planet and sun gear) was a method of converting reciprocal motion to Rotary motion and utilised a reciprocating Steam A steam locomotive is a Locomotive powered by Steam. The term usually refers to its use on Railways but can also refer to a "road locomotive" Watt himself described the provenance of the invention of the sun and planet gear in a letter to Boulton from Watt dated January 5, 1782:

"I have tried a model of one of my old plans of rotative engines revived and executed by W. Events 1477 - Battle of Nancy: Charles the Bold is killed and Burgundy becomes part of France. Year 1782 ( MDCCLXXXII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common M[urdock] and which merits being included in the specification as a fifth method. . . "

The patent was never contested by Murdoch, who remained an employee of Boulton and Watt for most of his life, and Boulton and Watt's firm continued to use the sun and planet gear in their rotative engines, even long after the patent for the crank expired in 1794.

Legacy

James Watt's improvements to the steam engine transformed the Newcomen engine, which had hardly changed for fifty years, and initiated a series of improvements in generating and applying power, which transformed the world of work, and was a key innovation of the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution was a period in the late 18th and early 19th centuries when major changes in agriculture manufacturing and transportation had a profound effect on the The importance of the invention can hardly be overstated--it gave us the modern world. A key feature of it was that it brought the engine out of the remote coal fields into factories where many mechanics, engineers, and even tinkerers were exposed to its virtues and limitations. A factory (previously manufactory) or manufacturing plant is an industrial Building where workers manufacture goods It was a platform for generations of inventors to improve. It was clear to many that higher pressures produced in improved boilers would produce engines having even higher efficiency, and would lead to the revolution in transportation that was soon embodied in the locomotive and steamboat. A locomotive is a railway Vehicle that provides the motive power for a Train. A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving a Propeller It made possible the construction of new factories that, since they were not dependent on water power, could work the year round, and could be placed almost anywhere. Work was moved out of the cottages, resulting in economies of scale. Capital could work more efficiently, and manufacturing productivity greatly improved. It made possible the cascade of new sorts of machine tools that could be used to produce better machines, including that most remarkable of all of them, the Watt steam engine. A machine tool is a powered mechanical device typically used to fabricate metal components of machines by Machining, which is the selective removal of metal The Watt steam engine was the first type of Steam engine to make use of steam at a pressure just above atmospheric to drive the piston helped by a partial vacuum

Of Watt, the English Novelist Aldous Huxley (1894-1963) wrote; "To us, the moment 8:17 A. Aldous Leonard Huxley (26 July 1894 &ndash 22 November 1963 was an English writer and one of the most prominent members of the famous Huxley family. M. means something - something very important, if it happens to be the starting time of our daily train. To our ancestors, such an odd eccentric instant was without significance - did not even exist. In inventing the locomotive, Watt and Stephenson were part inventors of time. "

Honours

See also: Watt

Watt was a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the Royal Society of London. The watt (symbol W) is the SI derived unit of power, equal to one Joule of energy per Second. The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland 's National academy of science and letters The Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge, known simply as The Royal Society, is a Learned society for science that was founded in 1660 He was a member of the Batavian Society, and one of only eight Foreign Associates of the French Academy of Sciences. The French Academy of Sciences ( French: Académie des sciences) is a Learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the

The watt is named after James Watt for his contributions to the development of the steam engine, and was adopted by the Second Congress of the British Association for the Advancement of Science in 1889 and by the 11th General Conference on Weights and Measures in 1960 as the unit of power incorporated in the International System of Units (or "SI"). The watt (symbol W) is the SI derived unit of power, equal to one Joule of energy per Second. A steam engine is a Heat engine that performs Mechanical work using Steam as its Working fluid. The General Conference on Weights and Measures is the English name of the Conférence générale des poids et mesures ( CGPM, never GCWM

This SI unit is named after James Watt. As with every SI unit whose name is derived from the proper name of a person, the first letter of its symbol is uppercase (W). The musical instrument is spelled Cymbal. A symbol is something --- such as an object, Picture, written word a sound a piece Capital letters or majuscules pronunciation /məˈdʒʌskyuls ˈmædʒəˌskyuls/ in the Roman alphabet A, B, C, D, When an SI unit is spelled out in English, it should always begin with a lowercase letter (watt), except where any word would be capitalized, such as at the beginning of a sentence or in capitalized material such as a title. Lower case (also lower-case or lowercase) minuscule, or small letters are the smaller form of letters as opposed to upper Note that "degree Celsius" conforms to this rule because the "d" is lowercase. The Celsius Temperature scale was previously known as the centigrade scale. — Based on The International System of Units, section 5. 2.

Memorials

Watt was buried in the grounds of St. Mary's Church, Handsworth, in Birmingham. St Mary's Church Handsworth, also known as Handsworth Old Church is an Anglican church in Handsworth, Birmingham, England (not Later expansion of the church, over his grave, means that his tomb is now buried inside the church. A statue of him, Boulton and Murdoch is in Birmingham, as are two other statues of him alone, one in Chamberlain Square, the other outside the Law Courts. The Gilded Bronze Statue of Matthew Boulton, James Watt and William Murdoch by William Bloye stands Chamberlain Square or Chamberlain Place is a public square in central Birmingham, England ( named after Joseph Chamberlain. He is also remembered by the Moonstones and a school is named in his honour, both in Birmingham. The Moonstones ( are a set of eight carved Sandstone Memorials to various members of the Lunar Society. An extensive archive of his papers is held at Birmingham Central Library. Birmingham Central Library is the main public library in Birmingham, England. Matthew Boulton's home, Soho House, is now a museum, commemorating the work of both men. Soho House, Matthew Boulton 's home (from 1766 until he died in 1809 in Handsworth, Birmingham, England, is now a Museum (opened The University of Glasgow's Faculty of Engineering, the oldest in the United Kingdom, (where Watt was a professor) has its headquarters in the James Watt Building, which also houses the department of Mechanical Engineering and the department of Aerospace Engineering. The University of Glasgow (Oilthigh Ghlaschu was founded in 1451 in Glasgow, Scotland and along with its contemporary institutions the University of St Andrews

The location of James Watt's birth in Greenock is commemorated by a statue, close to his birthplace. Several locations and street names in Greenock recall him, most notably the Watt Memorial Library, which was begun in 1816 with Watt's donation of scientific books, and developed as part of the Watt Institution by his son (which ultimately became the James Watt College). The James Watt College is a Further education college in Greenock, Scotland. Taken over by the local authority in 1974, the library now also houses the local history collection and archives of Inverclyde, and is dominated by a large seated statue in the vestibule. Inverclyde ( Gaelic: Inbhir Chluaidh, iɲɪɾʲˈxɫ̪uəj is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. Watt is additionally commemorated by statuary in George Square, Glasgow and Princes Street, Edinburgh. George Square is the central square in the Scottish city of Glasgow. Princes Street is one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland, and its main shopping street Edinburgh ( ˈɛdɪnb(ərə Dùn Èideann) is the Capital of Scotland and is its second largest city after Glasgow.

The James Watt College has expanded from its original location to include campuses in Kilwinning (North Ayrshire), Finnart Street and The Waterfront in Greenock, and the Sports campus in Largs. Kilwinning ( Gaelic: Cill Fhinnean) is a historic town situated in North Ayrshire, Scotland. Largs is a Town on the Firth of Clyde in North Ayrshire, Scotland, about 33 miles (53 km from Glasgow. The Heriot-Watt University near Edinburgh was at one time the "Watt Institution and School of Arts" named in his memory, then merged with George Heriot's Hospital for needy orphans and the name was changed to Heriot-Watt College. Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland, is the eighth-oldest higher education institution in the United Kingdom, although it only received Edinburgh ( ˈɛdɪnb(ərə Dùn Èideann) is the Capital of Scotland and is its second largest city after Glasgow. George Heriot's School is an independent primary and secondary School on Lauriston Place in Edinburgh, Scotland, with Dozens of university and college buildings (chiefly of science and technology) are named after him.

The huge painting James Watt contemplating the steam engine by James Eckford Lauder is now owned by the National Gallery of Scotland. James Eckford Lauder ( August 15, 1811 - March 27, 1869) was a notable mid- Victorian Scottish artist famous for both portraits and The National Gallery of Scotland, in Edinburgh, is the national Art gallery of Scotland.

Watt was ranked first, tying with Edison, among 229 significant figures in the history of technology by Charles Murray's survey of historiometry presented in his book Human Accomplishments. This article is about the political scientist For other people with the same name see Charles Murray (disambiguation. Historiometry is the historical study of human progress or individual personal characteristics using Statistics to analyze References to famous people Watt was ranked 22nd in Michael H. Hart's list of the most influential figures in history. Michael H Hart (born April 28, 1932 in New York City) is an Astrophysicist who has also written three books on History and controversial The 100 A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History is a 1978 book by Michael H

The SI unit of power, the watt, is named after him, as are over 50 roads or streets in the UK. In Physics, power (symbol P) is the rate at which work is performed or energy is transmitted or the amount of energy required or expended for The watt (symbol W) is the SI derived unit of power, equal to one Joule of energy per Second.

A colossal statue of Watt by Chantrey was placed in Westminster Abbey, and later was moved to St. Paul's Cathedral. Sir Francis Legatt Chantrey ( April 7, 1782 &ndash November 25, 1841) was an English sculptor of the Georgian era The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, which is almost always referred to by its original name of Westminster Abbey, is a large mainly Gothic church St Paul's Cathedral, is the Anglican Cathedral on Ludgate Hill, in the City of London, and the seat of the Bishop of London. On the cenotaph the inscription reads:

NOT TO PERPETUATE A NAME,

WHICH MUST ENDURE WHILE THE PEACEFUL ARTS FLOURISH,

BUT TO SHOW

THAT MANKIND HAVE LEARNED TO HONOUR THOSE

WHO BEST DESERVE THEIR GRATITUDE,

THE KING,

HIS MINISTERS, AND MANY OF THE NOBLES

AND COMMONERS OF THE REALM

RAISED THIS MONUMENT TO

JAMES WATT

WHO DIRECTING THE FORCE OF AN ORIGINAL GENIUS

EARLY EXERCISED IN PHILOSOPHIC RESEARCH

TO THE IMPROVEMENT OF

THE STEAM-ENGINE

ENLARGED THE RESOURCES OF HIS COUNTRY

INCREASED THE POWER OF MAN

AND ROSE TO AN EMINENT PLACE

AMONG THE MOST ILLUSTRIOUS FOLLOWERS OF SCIENCE

AND THE REAL BENEFACTORS OF THE WORLD

BORN AT GREENOCK MDCCXXXVI

DIED AT HEATHFIELD IN STAFFORDSHIRE MDCCCXIX

A lecture theatre in the Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering building at the University of Birmingham is named 'G31 - The James Watt Lecture Theatre'

See also

Watt's inventions:

• Watt steam engine
• Centrifugal governor
• Indicator diagram
• Watt's linkage
• Parallel motion
• Sun and planet gear

References

Further reading

• Jennifer Tann, Watt, James (1736–1819), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, May 2007, accessed 5 April 2008
• Dickenson, H. The Dictionary of National Biography ( DNB) is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history published from 1885 W. , James Watt: Craftsman and Engineer Cambridge University Press (1935).
• H. W. Dickinson and Hugh Pembroke Vowles James Watt and the Industrial Revolution (published in 1943, new edition 1948 and reprinted in 1949. Hugh Pembroke Vowles (born 1885 in Pembroke, Wales - died 1951 in Oxlynch, Stonehouse Gloucestershire, England) was a British Also published in Spanish and Portuguese (1944) by the British Council)
• J. Portuguese ( or língua portuguesa) is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia (Spain and northern Portugal. The British Council is a Public Body of the United Kingdom Government which specialises in educational and development opportunities P. Muirhead, Origin and Progress of the Mechanical Inventions of James Watt (London, 1854).
• J. P. Muirhead, Life of Watt (London, 1858).
• Samuel Smiles, Lives of the Engineers, (London, 1861-62, new edition, five volumes, 1905). Samuel Smiles ( 23 December, 1812 &ndash 16 April, 1904) was a Scottish author and reformer
• "Some Unpublished Letters of James Watt" in Journal of Institution of Mechanical Engineers (London, 1915). The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE is the British Engineering society concerned with Mechanical engineering
• Carnegie, Andrew, James Watt University Press of the Pacific (2001) (Reprinted from the 1913 ed. Andrew Carnegie (properly kɑrˈneɪgi but commonly /ˈkɑrnɨgi/ or /kɑrˈnɛgi/ (25 November 1835 – 11 August 1919 was a Scottish -born American Industrialist ), ISBN 0-89875-578-6.
• Hills, Rev. Dr. Richard L. , James Watt, Vol 1, His time in Scotland, 1736-1774 (2002); Vol 2, The years of toil, 1775-1785; Vol 3 Triumph through adversity 1785-1819. Landmark Publishing Ltd, ISBN 1-84306-045-0.
• Marsden, Ben. Watt's Perfect Engine Columbia University Press (New York, 2002) ISBN 0-231-13172-0.
• Hulse David K (1999): "The early development of the steam engine"; TEE Publishing, Leamington Spa, UK, ISBN, 85761 107 1; pp. 127 - 152
• Hulse, David K. , The development of rotary motion by steam power by steam power (TEE Publishing Ltd. , Leamington, UK. , 2001) ISBN 1 85761 119 5

Related topics

• Schofield, Robert E. , (1963) The Lunar Society, A Social History of Provincial Science and Industry in Eighteenth Century England, Clarendon Press

External links

• James Watt by Andrew Carnegie (1905)
• James Watt by Thomas H. Marshall (1925)
• Archives of Soho at Birmingham Central Library.
• James Watt at Birmingham Jewellery Quarter website
• James Watt at Important Scots website
• BBC History: James Watt
• Revolutionary Players website
• Cornwall Record Office Boulton & Watt letters

Persondata
NAME	Watt, James
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Industrial Revolution engineer of the steam engine
DATE OF BIRTH	19 January 1736(1736-01-19)
PLACE OF BIRTH	Greenock, Scotland
DATE OF DEATH	25 August 1819
PLACE OF DEATH	Handsworth, Staffordshire, England

The Industrial Revolution was a period in the late 18th and early 19th centuries when major changes in agriculture manufacturing and transportation had a profound effect on the An engineer is a person professionally engaged in a field of Engineering. A steam engine is a Heat engine that performs Mechanical work using Steam as its Working fluid. Events 1419 - Hundred Years' War: Rouen surrenders to Henry V of England completing his reconquest of Normandy. Year 1736 ( MDCCXXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Greenock ( Gaelic Grianaig g̊ɾʲiənɛg̊ʲ is a large town and former Burgh of barony in the Inverclyde Council area of western Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Events 1248 - The Dutch city of Ommen receives city rights and fortification rights from Otto III the Year 1819 ( MDCCCXIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar in the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common year Handsworth ( is an inner city suburb of Birmingham in the West Midlands, England. Staffordshire (abbreviated Staffs) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland

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