I am indebted to friends, Messrs. Angus Sinclair and Edward R. Cooper, for editing my notes upon Scientific and Mechanical points.
The result is this volume. If the public, in reading, have one tithe of the pleasure I have had in writing it, I shall be amply rewarded.
The Author.
CONTENTS
- [Authors Preface v]
- CHAPTER PAGE
- [ I. Childhood and Youth 3]
- [ II. Glasgow to London—Return to Glasgow. 23]
- [ III. Captured by Steam 45]
- [ IV. Partnership with Roebuck 67]
- [ V. Boulton Partnership 87]
- [ VI. Removal to Birmingham 121]
- [ VII. Second Patent 157]
- [ VIII. The Record of the Steam Engine 195]
- [ IX. Watt in Old Age 213]
- [ X. Watt, the Inventor and Discoverer 223]
- [ XI. Watt, the Man 233]
CHAPTER I
Childhood and Youth
James Watt, born in Greenock, January 19, 1736, had the advantage, so highly prized in Scotland, of being of good kith and kin. He had indeed come from a good nest. His great-grandfather, a stern Covenanter, was killed at Bridge of Dee, September 12, 1644, in one of the battles which Graham of Claverhouse fought against the Scotch. He was a farmer in Aberdeenshire, and upon his death the family was driven out of its homestead and forced to leave the district.