Britain Unlimited covers 250 Great British people and what made them famous

Who was James Watt? Scientist and perfector of Steam motion. Date and Place of Birth: 19th January 1736. Greenock, Strathclyde, Scotland. Family Background: Son of the Treasurer and Magistrate of Greenock, who was also a successful ship and house builder. Education: By his mother then local grammar school. Glasgow University. Chronology: 1753: Goes to Glasgow to become a maker of mathematical instruments. 1755: Moves to London to try and become an apprentice to an instrument maker. 1757: Returns to Glasgow where he works as an instrument maker at the University. 1759: Opens a shop in Saltmarket, Glasgow selling instruments and toys. 1764: He repairs a non-working model of the Newcomen steam engine. 1765: He fits the Newcomen Engine with a separate condenser unit to increase its power. 1767: Employed as a surveyor for the Forth and Clyde Canal. 1768: Builds a prototype of his new improved stream engine with his partner John Roebuck. 1769: Patented "A New Invented Method of Lessening the Consumption of Steam and Fuel in Fire Engines. 1772: Partnership with Roebuck broke up. 1775: Entered into a new partnership this time with Matthew Boulton of Birmingham. Statue of James Watt outside Birmingham Central Library 1776: Boulton and Watt build two new steam engines. 1781: Invented a rotary motion device to be fitted to his engine. 1782: Took out a patent on a double acting engine where the piston both pushes and pulls. 1783: The unit of Horse Power was experimentally calculated by Watt and his name was later to be used as a unit of power. 1784: Although he described steam locomotion in one of his Patents he dissuaded William Murdock from investigating this further. 1785: Both Boulton and Watt were elected as Fellows of the Royal Society of London. 1786: He invented the centrifugal governor which automated the speed of an engine for the first time. 1790: He invented a reliable pressure gauge for his engines. 1796: Richard Trevithick visits the Soho Foundry. Marriage: 1. 1764: To his cousin Margaret Miller (died 1773). 2. 1776: To Ann MacGregor. Places of Interest: BIRMINGHAM: Soho House, Handsworth Birmingham Central Library, Archives Department Statue of Watt outside Central Library Statue of Matthew Boulton, James Watt and William Murdoch in Broad Street, Birmingham LONDON: Science Museum Date and Place of Death: 25th August 1819. Heathfield Hall, Near Birmingham, England. Age at Death: 83. Site of Grave: St. Mary's Church, Handsworth, Birmingham, England.