James Watt: A Man of Invention

James Watt was born in Greenock, Scotland on January 18^th, 1736. In his early years, he learned about making instruments and was interested in math. Although he was a talented person, he wasn’t always successful. At times, he didn’t have people he needed or the money he needed to see his inventions enter the world he was living in. But this didn’t stop him. Throughout his life, he used patience and opportunity to expand on the inventions that would move the Industrial Revolution forward.

In his mid-teens, Watt knew he wanted to become an instrument maker, but there were no opportunities in Greenock, so he moved to Glassgow. While in Glassgow, he met some of the University’s professors who were impressed with his work and encouraged him to get training. So he set out for London to become an apprentice. But when he arrived in London he had to look for someone who would teach him and most were not willing to shorten the 7-year training. However he found someone who would make his training 2-years. Watt was willing to work extra hours to complete on time, and he returned to Glassgow in 1756 as a trained instrument maker. The Glassgow University professors recognized his good work, and he began to make mathematical instruments for them and repair and service other instruments as well.

It was in this job as a University instrument maker that an opportunity came to

Watt that would forever change his life’s work. One day in 1763 he was given a scale model of a Newcomen steam engine to repair. He found that the model was very inefficient. It wasted ¾ of the steam used. He began to find way to fix this and make it more resourceful. He realized that the cooling of the cylinder was the thing that made it so inefficient. The way he fixed it was that he made a model that used a second cylinder that was not connected to the piston and this allowed the energy made go toward power instead of just reheating the cylinder that was continually being cooled. This was a huge advancement in the way miners could mine faster and keep more coal. It was in 1765 when he discovered his idea would work. There was just one problem; he didn’t have the money or people to make it!

He had a lucky break when John Roebuck, a coal industrialist, agreed to back a full-scale engine. This got Watt started on the building, but there were still problems. The people that Roebuck gave to work for Watt were not skilled ironmakers and their work often had flaws that caused problems for the steam engine. This delayed the building and eventually Roebuck ran out of money and Watt had to become a surveyor for several years. Then in 1773 Matthew Boulton took over the rights to the engine and he brought Watt back to finish the job. This time the workers that he got were the best in the world and this time the invention was successful. In 1776 the Bentley mineing company started using watt’s invention and it was a huge success; soon other mining companies were buying this invention. People all over the world recognized him for his amazing machine!

Although the improvements to the steam engine would be his greatest accomplishment, he made other inventions that were also big success for the industrial revolution. At age 45 Watt invited the next success, the sun and planet gear system. This speed up the piston. He made a double-acting engine; this invention allowed the steam to act on both sides of the piston and made it more efficient. In 1781 he created a compound engine the connected two or more engines. In 1782, he also created the steam indicator which indicated the pressure in the cylinder. It was also at this time that Watt was able to determine the units that a horse could lift and created the measurement system of “horse power.” And today we recognize this great inventor when we use electrical units of power known as “watts”.

Watts became a wealthy man, and he was recognized for his great contributions to the Industrial Revolution. In 1785, Watt and Boulton were elected fellows of the Royal Society. This was a great honor. By 1800, his engine was no longer just being used for mining; nearly 100 mills used his engine for the production of cotton, wheat, wool and flour. At this time, he retired and spent the rest of his life on research work. James Watt died on August 19^th, 1819.

Watt’s patience and use of opportunity moved the Industrial Revolution forward in an amazing way. There were a lot of bumps in the road to his success, but Watt made this world a place where production was more efficient, setting a path for future inventors and scientists to use his ideas and transform the world.