James Watt
1736–1819
Engineer and chemist. Trained as a scientific instrument maker. Mathematical instrument maker to the University of Glasgow, 1757–66. Practised as a civil engineer in Glasgow, 1766–74. Moved to Birmingham in 1774 and, in partnership with Matthew Boulton, successfully commercialised his improved steam engine design. Retired from the business in 1800.
Sources
DSB
ODNB
Bibliography
DSB: Dictionary of scientific biography. Edited by Charles Coulston Gillispie and Frederic L. Holmes. 18 vols. including index and supplements. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons. 1970–90.
ODNB: Oxford dictionary of national biography: from the earliest times to the year 2000. (Revised edition.) Edited by H. C. G. Matthew and Brian Harrison. 60 vols. and index. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2004.
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