What is James Watt?
[[File:James Watt by Henry Howard.jpg|thumb|right|A portrait of James Watt]] [[File:Old bess steam engine 1777.jpg|thumb|right|250px|''Old Bess'', the oldest surviving beam engine, built by [[Matthew Boulton]] & James Watt in 1777. [[Science Museum]], London]] '''James Watt''' (19 January 1736 {{ndash}} 25 August 1819) was a [[Scotland|Scottish]] [[mathematician]] and [[engineer]]. He did not invent the first [[steam engine]], but he did modify it to work better. There were other patented steam engines (such as the Savery and [[Newcomen]] steam engines) in use by the time Watt started his work on them. His major contribution is in developing the modern form of the steam engine. The Watt steam engine is credited for driving the [[Industrial Revolution]] of the 18th and 19th centuries. James Watt was a brilliant engineer and he also transformed the Newcomen engine. The modern [[unit]] of [[power (physics)|power]], the [[watt]], is named after him. It replaced the [[horsepower]] invented by Watt. == Biography == James Watt was born on 19 January 1736 in [[Greenock]], [[Renfrewshire]]. His father was a [[shipwright]], ship owner and contractor, and served as the town's [[Baillie|chief baillie]]. His mother, Agnes Muirhead, came from a distinguished family and was well educated. Both were [[Presbyterian]]s and strong [[Covenanter]]s. Watt's grandfather, Thomas Watt, taught [[mathematics]] and was a baillie to the [[Baron of Cartsburn]]. Watt did not go to school every day. At first, he was mostly [[home school|schooled at home]] by his mother but later he attended Greenock grammar school.<ref>{{cite book|last=Tann|first=Jennifer|title=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford, England|date=2004|chapter=James Watt (1736–1819)}}</ref> He exhibited great skill with his hands and a natural ability for [[mathematics]], although [[Latin]] and [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] failed to interest him. He also absorbed the [[Scottish mythology|legends and lore]] of the [[Scottish people