James Watt was an engineer and a scientist who revolutionized the steam engine in the late 1700s. His innovative improvements to the steam engine made it a practical power source that eventually changed the face of industry and the world.
James Watt was born in Greenock, Scotland, in 1736. He was the eldest son of a carpenter and shipbuilder and was educated at Greenock grammar school. He first developed a passion for mechanics during an apprenticeship to a London instrument-maker. After the apprenticeship, he returned to Scotland and opened his own instrument-making business.
One of James turning points came in 1764 when he was called to make repairs to a model of a Newcomen steam engine at Glasgow University. He was so intrigued by the potential of the engine he spent the next several years experimenting and redesigning it. One of his major contributions was the separate condenser. This isolated steam from the cylinder and significantly improved the efficiency of the engine. In 1781 he was granted a patent for his improved steam engine, and in 1782 opened the first factory in Britain to produce the Watt steam engine.
The success of James invention was quick and powerful. His steam engines helped power the Industrial Revolution of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The engine enabled factories to be built using the water power of rivers, increased the production of factories, powered mining and transportation, and help develop communication and transportation networks like railways and canals.
In addition to his revolutionary steam engine, James Watt also made important contributions to the field of mathematics. He popularized the use of “horsepower” as a unit of energy and invented the centrifugal governor. He also made improvements to the marine navigational compass and the thermal efficiency measure known as the Watt ratio.
James Watt died in 1819, but his legacy continues to the present day. Upon his death, he was buried in the catacombs of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. His name has been memorialized in many places, including the SI unit of power being named the Watt (W). As a result of his outstanding achievements, in 2010 James Watt was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. His inventions revolutionized transportation, communication and industry, and helped create the modern world we now live in.
