Steam engine biography

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A Desire to Make Instruments

James Watt was born in 1736 in Greenock, Scotland.

James Watt - Steam Engine, Inventions, Legacy | Britannica

James was a thin, weakly child who suffered from migraines and toothaches. He enjoyed mathematics in grammar school, and also learned carpentry from his father. His father was a carpenter by training, and built anything from furniture to ships, but primarily worked in shipbuilding. Watt learned about the navigational aids on ships: quadrants, compasses, telescopes.

By his midteens he knew he wanted to become an instrument maker.

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Watt's father had just lost a substantial investment due to a shipwreck, and he could see the benefits of another occupation, so was supportive of Watt's ambitions. Unfortunately, there were no opportunities for instrument training in Greenock.

In 1754 Watt went to Glasgow, Scotland and steam engine biography1 QOME