James Watt

Also known as James, Sr. Watt, James von Breda Watt

British engineer (1736–1819)

AI overview

James Watt was a Scottish engineer who lived from 1736 to 1819 and made crucial improvements to the steam engine, which became a driving force of the Industrial Revolution. His innovations made steam engines much more efficient and practical for industrial use, fundamentally transforming manufacturing, transportation, and power generation in the modern world.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Wikidata facts

Instance of: human
Given name: James
Family name: Watt
Gender: male
Citizenship: Scotland
Place of birth: Greenock
Occupation: technician
Educated at: University of Glasgow
Employer: University of Glasgow
Languages spoken: English language
Award: Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
Field of work: instrument maker
Image: James Watt by Henry Howard.jpg
Work location: Birmingham
Residence: Glasgow

Show 16 more facts

Commons category: James Watt
member of: Lunar Society of Birmingham
date of birth: 1736-01-19
date of death: 1819-08-19
topic's main category: Category:James Watt
Commons gallery: James Watt
name in native language: James Watt
ethnic group: Scottish people
influenced by: Thomas Newcomen
on focus list of Wikimedia project: Wikipedia:Vital articles/Level/4
writing language: English language
manner of death: natural causes
relative: Robert Watson-Watt
P8168: Cynoglossum
P12749: Metzerlen-Mariastein
date of burial or cremation: 1819-09-02

Sources (12)

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Encyclopedic overview

Statue of Watt (Hunterian Museum, Glasgow, by Francis Chantrey)

James Watt (/wɒt/; 30 January 1736 (19 January 1736 OS) – 25 August 1819) was a Scottish inventor, engineer and chemist who improved on Thomas Newcomen's 1712 Newcomen steam engine with his Watt steam engine in 1776, which was fundamental to the changes brought by the Industrial Revolution in both his native Great Britain and the rest of the world.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “James Watt” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.