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MAKING THE MODERN WORLD
Stories about the lives we've made
 
people:James Watt
Born: 19 January 1736 Greenock, Scotland
Died: 25 August 1819, Heathfield, Birmingham, England

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British engineer and inventor.

Born in Greenock, Scotland, Watt set up business in Glasgow in 1757 as mathematical instrument maker to the University. In 1763/64, while repairing a Newcomen engine brought to his workshop, he found that he could improve the efficiency of the engine by using a separate steam condenser. In 1774 he went into partnership with Matthew Boulton (1728-1809) and began manufacture of the new engine in Birmingham.

Watt died on 25 August 1819. The SI unit of power is named after him.
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Inventing engineering
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Rise of the factory system
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Power
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The Heroic Age
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Machinery in motion
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The workshop of the world
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Geography of energy
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Icon of Invention
Watt's model separate condenser, 1765
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Garret workshop of James Watt
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James Watt: Life and inventions
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The Watt engine
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The Trevithick engine
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Power for production
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Machines for making machines
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Icon of Invention
Beam engine, c.1840
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Centres of excellence: Engineering pioneers
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What makes an engineer?
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Learning on the job
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