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Description: | Inscribed inside "James Watt died 25 Aug. 1819 Aged 83" MANU Unknown 1819 Unknown Old label says "Ring containing James Watts hair. Presented by Charles Randolph Esqr. Oct. 11th 1876". One of two Watt memorial rings in the collection, this is more worn, and slightly larger than the other. James Watt was born in Greenock in 1736. He went to London to learn to be a mathematical and philosophical instrument maker, and got a job making instruments with the University of Glasgow, who gave him accommodation and a workshop. In 1763 John Anderson (1726-1796) asked him to repair an early steam engine he had acquired, the Newcomen engine, which was very inefficient. Two years later, Watt hit upon the idea of condensing the steam in a separate vessel, making the engine faster, safer, and more fuel-efficient. In 1769 he patented his steam engine. Between 1775-1800 Watt was in partnership with Matthew Boulton (1728-1809), a Birmingham engineer, producing engines based on Watt's new model, at Soho Engineering Works in Birmingham. At first, steam power was used mainly for spinning, but eventually weaving was also powered by steam engine. By 1819, the year of Watt's death, there were 18 steam weaving factories in Glasgow, with 2800 looms. Apart from his steam research, which he originally carried out in the grounds of Kinneil House near Linlithgow, Watt was involved in many other projects. He solved the problem of how to convert the up-and-down piston movement to rotary movement (so that engines could power looms, bellows, and other mechanical devices), he created the term "horsepower", and also invented the rev. counter, a machine for copying sculpture, and a letter copying press (a very early photocopier!) In 1882, 63 years after Watt's death, the British Association gave his name to the unit of electrical power - and today James Watt's name is to be found written on almost every light bulb in the world. James Watt became a close colleague of both Joseph Black (1728-1799) and John Robison (1739-1805). He corresponded very frequently with scientific men in France, and Antoine Laurent Lavoisier and Comte Claude Louis Berthollet (1748-1822) were among his closest acquaintances.
(Source: www.nahste.ac.uk) | License: | http://www.hmag.gla.ac.uk/spirit/rights/ | Publisher: | Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery, University of Glasgow | Rights holder: | Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery, University of Glasgow | Subjects: | HISTPER : UNIVERSITY HISTORY : HISTORICAL COLLECTION : : JEWELLERY : JEWELRY : | Source: | Hunterian Museum | Creator: | Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery, University of Glasgow | Identifier: | http://www.huntsearch.gla.ac.uk/cgi-bin/... | Language: | en-GB | Go to resource |
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