James Watt was an 18th century Scottish instrument maker and inventor. By applying new scientific concepts he contributed substantially to the Industrial Revolution.

Watt was born in Greenock, Scotland on January 19, 1736. His father was very successful in building ships and houses and he was also a merchant, a shipfitter and shipowner, and the treasurer and magistrate of the town. As a child, Watt was taught by his mother at home, then he went to grammar school where he learned Latin, Greek, and mathematics. During his younger years he went to his father's workshop and he grew familiar with the ship instruments by making models of cranes, barrel organs, and other essentials for shipmaking with his own tools.

By age 17 Watt decided he wanted to be a mathematical - instrument maker. So he traveled to Glasgow, where he met up with one of his mother's relatives who taught at...