Author Topic: ~ James Watt Biography ~  (Read 4458 times)

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~ James Watt Biography ~
« on: November 07, 2014, 10:57:55 AM »
James Watt



Famous as: Inventor of Steam Engine

Nationality: Scottish

Born on: 19 January 1736 AD   

Zodiac Sign: Capricorn   

Born in: Greenock, Renfrewshire, Scotland

Died on: 25 August 1819 AD

place of death: Birmingham, England

Spouses: Margaret Miller (1764–1772), Ann Macgregor (1777-1819)

discoveries / inventions: Steam Engine, Concept Of Horsepower

James Watt was a Scottish engineer and instrument maker, who is known for his invention of the first modern steam engine. He modified the Newcomen steam engine to increase its efficiency through his creative thinking and scientific knowledge of instrument design. He learned writing, arithmetic and geometry in his childhood along with the craft of instrument making, which he later pursued as a career to achieve great heights. One of his greatest strengths was that he was a quick learner, which transformed him from an apprentice to a skilled professional in very less time as compared to other people. He faced a lot of poverty as he was vastly in debt and was not allowed to work as a professional initially. Eventually, he became a successful and famous inventor through some of his finest works including the steam engine, rotary engine and copying system. His vast knowledge of mechanical engineering, leading the way for the future generations, also symbolized his mark in history as one of the most celebrated scientists of all time. He also developed the concept of 'Horsepower' and the S.I. unit of power, Watt, is named after him. He was married twice and had seven children, but unfortunately only one of his children lived beyond the age of 30.

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Re: ~ James Watt Biography ~
« Reply #1 on: November 07, 2014, 11:00:03 AM »
Childhood & Early Life

James was born on 19 January, 1736 in Greenock, Renfrewshire to Agnes Muirhead, a well educated women and her husband, James Watt, who was a shipwright and contractor with a well established business. He had a brother, John, who died at an early age. 
 
He was not a healthy child and suffered from toothaches and migraines in his childhood. Due to this medical condition, he was unable to attend school regularly and was mostly taught at home by his parents. 
 
His mother taught him reading while his father taught him arithmetic and writing. He loved to operate on a small toolkit in his father’s workshop, assembling different objects for designing various models. In this way, he was attracted to the skill of crafting instruments. 
 
During his teenage years his father lost his inheritance due to commercial disasters and his mother died. In the mean time, he decided to pursue a career in mathematical instrument making.

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Re: ~ James Watt Biography ~
« Reply #2 on: November 07, 2014, 11:02:32 AM »
Career

In 1754, he went to Glasgow and got acquainted with Robert Dick through one of his relatives working at Glasgow University. Robert encouraged him to master the skill of instrument making by working as an apprentice in London. 
 
In 1755, he met John Morgan, an instrument maker who agreed to teach him the art of instrument making with a little pay. He worked for long hours continuously in the cold workshop, due to which his health declined. His abilities surpassed John’s other apprentices and he was able to complete his tenure in one year, which normally extended up to seven years. 
 
After his training, he returned to Glasgow in 1756 to start his own business of mathematical instrument making, but faced opposition from local tradesmen as he was an outsider to them after being trained in London. They shunned his credentials and training. 
 
In 1757, with the help of his friends at the Glasgow University he opened a shop in the university campus and was appointed as the “Mathematical Instrument Maker to the University”. He was made in-charge of the new astronomical instruments which required special attention. 
 
In 1758, while he used to study and repair scientific instruments at the university, he became friends with some of its professors. In addition to that he formed a partnership with John Craig, a businessman who helped him to open a shop in Glasgow and sell musical instruments. 
 
In 1763, the most crucial moment of his life arrived, when a professor brought his attention to a Newcomen steam engine that was not working properly. This challenged his creativity and scientific knowledge, and he set upon finding a solution for it through his instrument making skills. 
 
After a study of two years, in 1765 he devised a unique way to modify the engine to improve its working which led to the invention of the steam engine. To this day, it is considered as one of the greatest achievements of all times. 
 
Over the years he improved the working of steam engine through his revolutionary ideas and inventive thinking. He also developed a copying machine and patented his discoveries with the help of his partner Matthew Boulton, an industrialist and a visionary.

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Re: ~ James Watt Biography ~
« Reply #3 on: November 07, 2014, 11:04:19 AM »
Major Works

From 1763 to 1765, he investigated the Newcomen engine and found loopholes in it, which were needed to be rectified for its proper working. He suggested a separate condenser connected with the engine, his first and greatest invention, where the steam from the engine would be collected for condensation. It would prevent the loss of latent heat and increase its working efficiency. 
 
In 1768, he entered into a partnership with John Roebuck, who urged him to make a steam engine which he did. The following year Watt took out the famous patent for “A New Invented Method of Lessening the Consumption of Steam and Fuel in Fire Engines.” 
 
From 1780 to 1790, he invented numerous techniques to improve the working of steam engine and patented them. This includes rotary motion, double acting engine, parallel motion and invention of pressure gauge.

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Re: ~ James Watt Biography ~
« Reply #4 on: November 07, 2014, 11:08:21 AM »
Awards & Achievements

In 1784, he was elected as a member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. 
 
In 1787, he was elected as a member of the Batavian Society for Experimental Philosophy in Rotterdam. 
 
In 1806, he was conferred the honorary Doctor of Laws by the University of Glasgow. 
 
In 1960, the 11th General Conference on Weights and Measures incorporated ‘watt’ as the unit of power in International System of Units.


Personal Life & Legacy

In 1764, he married his cousin Margaret Miller, with whom he had five children, but only one of them lived beyond the age of 30. His wife died in childbirth in 1772. 
 
In 1777, he was remarried to Ann Macgregor, daughter of a Glasgow dye-maker. They had two children, who also died at young ages.. 
 
After his retirement in 1800, he traveled to France and Germany with his second wife. He also revisited his hometown of Greenock in 1816. 
 
He died on 25 August, 1819 at his house in England, at the age of 83.


Trivia

He once quoted that “he would rather face a loaded cannon than settle an account or make a bargain”, which establishes the fact that he was not a businessman, but an inventor. 
 
This great inventor’s name is marked on every light bulb around the world.

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Re: ~ James Watt Biography ~
« Reply #5 on: November 07, 2014, 11:11:04 AM »
JAMES WATT TIMELINE

19th Jan 1736 
James was born on 19 January, 1736 in Greenock, Renfrewshire to Agnes Muirhead, a well educated women and her husband, James Watt, who was a shipwright and contractor with a well established business. He had a brother, John, who died at an early age.

1754 
In 1754, he went to Glasgow and got acquainted with Robert Dick through one of his relatives working at Glasgow University. Robert encouraged him to master the skill of instrument making by working as an apprentice in London.

1755 
In 1755, he met John Morgan, an instrument maker who agreed to teach him the art of instrument making with a little pay. He worked for long hours continuously in the cold workshop, due to which his health declined. His abilities surpassed John’s other apprentices and he was able to complete his tenure in one year, which normally extended up to seven years.

1756 
After his training, he returned to Glasgow in 1756 to start his own business of mathematical instrument making, but faced opposition from local tradesmen as he was an outsider to them after being trained in London. They shunned his credentials and training.

1757 
In 1757, with the help of his friends at the Glasgow University he opened a shop in the university campus and was appointed as the “Mathematical Instrument Maker to the University”. He was made in-charge of the new astronomical instruments which required special attention.

1758 
In 1758, while he used to study and repair scientific instruments at the university, he became friends with some of its professors. In addition to that he formed a partnership with John Craig, a businessman who helped him to open a shop in Glasgow and sell musical instruments.

1763 
In 1763, the most crucial moment of his life arrived, when a professor brought his attention to a Newcomen steam engine that was not working properly. This challenged his creativity and scientific knowledge, and he set upon finding a solution for it through his instrument making skills.

1764 
In 1764, he married his cousin Margaret Miller, with whom he had five children, but only one of them lived beyond the age of 30. His wife died in childbirth in 1772.

1765 
After a study of two years, in 1765 he devised a unique way to modify the engine to improve its working which led to the invention of the steam engine. To this day, it is considered as one of the greatest achievements of all times.

1777 
In 1777, he was remarried to Ann Macgregor, daughter of a Glasgow dye-maker. They had two children, who also died at young ages..

1780 To 1790 
From 1780 to 1790, he invented numerous techniques to improve the working of steam engine and patented them. This includes rotary motion, double acting engine, parallel motion and invention of pressure gauge.

1784 
In 1784, he was elected as a member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

1787 
In 1787, he was elected as a member of the Batavian Society for Experimental Philosophy in Rotterdam.

1806 
In 1806, he was conferred the honorary Doctor of Laws by the University of Glasgow.

25th Aug 1819 
He died on 25 August, 1819 at his house in England, at the age of 83.

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Re: ~ James Watt Biography ~
« Reply #6 on: November 07, 2014, 11:21:42 AM »
Videos About James Watt

BBC The Genius of Invention: Power (Electricity) Episode: 1 (LQ)




87 James Watt and the Steam Engine




087 James Watt und die Dampfmaschine




087 James Watt y la máquina a vapor




James Watt Steam Engine Animation




James Watt Biography




James Watt's Genius: Boulton & Watt Rotative Beam Engine 1788




87 James Watt met au point la machine à vapeur




James Watt 'Whatever it takes!'

« Last Edit: November 08, 2014, 12:11:09 PM by MysteRy »

Offline MysteRy

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Re: ~ James Watt Biography ~
« Reply #7 on: November 07, 2014, 11:26:23 AM »
Books by James Watt

Best Editorial Cartoons of the Year




Journal of Mule Train Packing in Eastern Washington in the 1860's




Contesting the Gothic: Fiction, Genre and Cultural Conflict, 1764-1832 (Cambridge Studies in Romanticism)




Eliminating Careless Error (Math, Grades 2 - 5)




Credicombe Down (Credicombe Trilogy Book 1)

« Last Edit: November 08, 2014, 12:13:58 PM by MysteRy »

Offline MysteRy

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Re: ~ James Watt Biography ~
« Reply #8 on: November 07, 2014, 11:44:46 AM »
Books About James Watt

Caught in the conflict: My life with James Watt




James Watt: Master of the Steam Engine (Giants of Science)




James Watt




Pursuing Power and Light: Technology and Physics from James Watt to Albert Einstein (Johns Hopkins Introductory Studies in the History of Science)




The Story of James Watt and the Steam Engine (Annotated)




100 Watts: The James Watt memorial cartoon collection




1736 Births: James Watt




1819 Deaths: James Watt




James Watt [Japanese Edition] (41)




An account of the navigable canal, proposed to be cut from the river Clyde to the river Carron, as surveyed by Robert Mackell and James Watt.




Answers for John and Thomas Watts, to the petition of Isobel Jervie, relict of the deceast William Watt, surgeon in Bathgate; and of James Dun her present husband, for his interest.




At the Eye of the Storm: James Watt and the Environmentalists




Bert Watts, Petitioner, v. James F. Maroney, Superintendent, State Correctional Institution. U.S. Supreme Court Transcript of Record with Supporting Pleadings




ig Book of Drawing, Doodling and Colouring (Usborne Drawing, Doodling and Colouring) by Fiona Watt, Lucy Bowman, James Maclaine (2013) Paperback




Biography - Watt, James G(aius) (1938-): An article from: Contemporary Authors




Biography - Watts, Alan (James) (1925-): An article from: Contemporary Authors




Caxton and the Art of Printing, and, James Watt and the Steam Engine




Charles A. Miller and Watts T. Miller Appellants. against James B. Turnley, Impleaded, Respondent




Conquests of Invention; Cyrus H. Mccormick, Elias Howe, Thomas Thomas, a Edison Robert Fulton, Guglielmo Marconi, Charles Goodyear, George ... James Watt Wilbur and Orville Wright




Considerations on the medicinal use and production of factitious airs. By Thomas Beddoes, M.D. and James Watt, engineer. Part III.

« Last Edit: November 08, 2014, 12:21:57 PM by MysteRy »