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James Watt

James Watt

This article is about the Scottish engineer and inventor. For Ronald Reagan's Secretary of the Interior, see James G. Watt. ---- James G. Watt James Watt (January 19, 1736 – August 19, 1819) was a Scottish inventor and engineer whose improvements to the steam engine were fundamental to the changes wrought by the Industrial Revolution.
Biography

Early years
James Watt was born January 19, 1736 in Greenock on the Clyde River, in Scotland. During his youth, his father was a prosperous shipwright, shipowner and contractor, and a man of position in the community. His mother, Agnes Muirhead, came from a distinguished family, and was well educated. They were Presbyterians and strong covenanters. James was a delicate child and regular attendence at school was impossible. He was mostly homeschooled by his doting mother. He very early exhibited great manual dexterity, and loved taking things apart. He had an aptitude for mathematics, but Latin and Greek left him cold. He became embued with the legends and lore of the Scottish people. His mother died when he was 17, and his father's fortunes reversed at about the same time. He decided to learn mathematical instrument making (quadrants, parallel rulers, theodolites and such). He traveled to London, where he was to be trained for a year, and then return to Glasgow, where he was determined to set up on his own. However, because he had not spent the mandatory seven years as an apprentice, he was blocked from carrying this out by the guild of hammermen in Glasgow, who controlled this occupation, though there was not another mathematical instrument maker in all of Scotland. Fortunately, he was rescued from this dilemma by the professors of Glasgow University, who permitted him to set up a small shop there in 1757. He became friends with a professor, Joseph Black, who had discovered latent heat, and his shop became a popular hang out for other professors of the University. In 1767 he married his cousin, Margaret Miller. They had six children.
Engineering achievements
Four years after opening his shop, Watt began to experiment with steam after his friend, Professor Robison, called his attention to it. At this point Watt had still never seen an operating steam engine, but he tried constructing a model. It failed to work satisfactorily, but he continued his experiments and began to read everything about it he could. He independently discovered the importance of latent heat in understanding the engine, which, unknown to him, Black had famously discovered some years before. He learned that the University owned a model Newcomen engine, but it was in London for repairs. Watt got the university to have it returned, and he made the repairs in 1763. It too just barely worked, and after much experimentation he showed that about 80% of the heat of the steam was consumed in heating the cylinder, because the steam in it was condensed by an injected stream of cold water. His critical insight, to cause the steam to condense in a separate chamber apart from the piston, and to maintain the temperature of the cylinder at the same temperature as the injected steam, came finally in 1765 and he soon had a working model. Now came a long struggle to produce a full-scale engine. This required more capital, some of which came from Black. More substantial backing came from John Roebuck, the founder of the celebrated Carron Iron Works, with whom he now formed a partnership. But the principle difficulty was in machining the piston and cylinder. Iron workers of the day were more like blacksmiths than machinists, so the results left much to be desired. Much capital was expended in pursuing the ground-breaking patent, which in those days required an act of parliament. Strapped for resources, Watt was forced to take up employment as a surveyor for eight years. Roebuck went bankrupt, and Matthew Boulton, who owned the Soho foundry works near Birmingham, acquired his patent rights. Watt and Boulton formed a hugely successful partnership which lasted for the next twenty-five years. Now Watt finally had access to some of the best iron workers in the world. The difficulty of the manufacture of a large cylinder with a tightly fitting piston was solved by John Wilkinson who had developed precision boring techniques for cannon making. Finally, in 1776 the first engines were installed and working in commercial enterprises. These first engines were used for pumps and produced only reciprocating motion. Orders began to pour in and for the next five years Watt was very busy installing more engines, mostly in Cornwall for pumping water out of mines. The field of application of the invention was greatly widened only after Boulton urged Watt to convert the reciprocating motion of the piston to produce rotational power for grinding, weaving and milling. Although a crank was the logical and obvious solution to the conversion Watt and Boulton were stymied by a patent for this, whose holder, John Steed wanted an outrageous fee. They circumvented the patent by their sun and planet gear in 1781. Over the next six years, he made a number of other improvements and modifications to the steam engine. A double acting engine, in which the steam acted alternately on the two sides of the piston was one. A throttle valve to control the power of the engine, and a centrifugal governor to keep it from "running away" were very important. A compound engine, which connected two or more engines was described. Two more patents were granted for these in 1781 and 1782. Numerous other improvements that made for easier manufacture and installation were continually implemented. One of these included the use of the steam indicator which produced an informative plot of the pressure in the cylinder against its volume, which he kept as a trade secret. These improvements taken together produced an engine which was something like five times as efficient in its use of fuel as the Newcomen engine. Because of the danger of exploding boilers and the ongoing issues with leaks, Watt was opposed at first to the use of high pressure steam, and is held by some to have held back the technical development of the steam engine by other engineers, until his patents expired in 1800. In particular his prohibitions on his employee William Murdoch working with high pressure steam on his steam locomotive experiments delayed the development & application of this invention. With his partner Matthew Boulton he battled against rival engineers such as Jonathan Hornblower who tried to develop engines which did not fall foul of his patents. Boulton proved an excellent businessman, and both men eventually made fortunes.
Later years
In 1794 the partners established Boulton and Watt to exclusively manufacture steam engines, and this became a large enterprise. By 1824 it had produced 1164 steam engines having a total nominal horsepower of about 26,000. Watt retired in 1800, the same year that his fundamental patent and partnership with Boulton expired. The famous partnership was transferred to the men's sons, Matthew Boulton and James Watt, Jr. William Murdoch was made a partner and the firm prospered. Watt continued to invent other things before and during his semi-retirement. He invented a new method of measuring distances by telescope, a device for copying letters, improvements in the oil lamp, a steam mangle and a machine for copying sculpture. He and his second wife traveled to France and Germany, and he purchased an estate in Wales, which he much improved. He died in his home at Heathfied on August 25, 1819 at the age of 83.
Controversy
There is some dispute as to whether Watt was the original inventor of some of the numerous inventions and principles which he filed patents for. It was his practice, (from around the 1780's) to file either vague patents or to pre-empt others ideas which were known to him by filing patents with the intention of securing credit for the invention for himself, and ensuring that no one else was able to carry out work in a particular field. As he states in a letter to Boulton of 17 August 1784: :"I have given such descriptions of engines for wheel carriages as I could do in the time and space I could allow myself; but it is very defective and can only serve to keep other people from similar patents". Two examples of this practice are his patenting of the sun and planet gear in 1781 and a steam locomotive in 1784, both of which were originated and invented by his employee William Murdoch.
Legacy
James Watt's model of the steam engine converted a machine of limited use to one of efficiency and multiple applications. It was the foremost energy source in the emerging Industrial Revolution, and greatly multiplied its productive capacity. It was also essential in later transportation advances, such as the steamboat and locomotive. Watt was ranked #22 on Michael H. Hart's list of the most influential figures in history. list of the most influential figures in history
Honors
Watt was a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the Royal Society of London. He was a member of the Batavian Society, and one of only eight Foreign Associates of the French Academy of Sciences.
Remembrance
Watt was buried in the grounds of St. Mary's Church, Handsworth, in Birmingham. Later expansion of the church, over his grave, means that his tomb is now buried inside the church. A colossal statue of him by Chantrey was placed in Westminster Abbey. A statue of him, Boulton and Murdoch is in Birmingham. The SI unit of power, the watt, is named after him. He is also remembered by the Moonstones and a school is named in his honour, all in Birmingham. There are 4 colleges named after him in Scotland, James Watt College in Kilwinning (North Ayrshire Campus) and Greenock (2 in Greenock, Finnart Campus and Waterfront Campus) and a campus in Largs. So is Edinburgh's Heriot-Watt University. There are over 50 roads or streets named after him, in the UK. Many of his papers are in Birmingham Central Library. Matthew Boulton's home, Soho House, is now a museum, commemorating the work of both men.
Bibliography

- Carnegie, Andrew James Watt University Press of the Pacific (2001) ISBN 0898755786. Reprinted from the 1913 ed.
- Hills, Rev. Dr. Richard L. James Watt, Vol 1, His time in Scotland, 1736-1774 (2002), 480pp, many illus., Landmark Publishing Ltd, ISBN 1843060450. [The second volume covering his time in England until his death in 1819 is due for publication in 2005.]
External links

- James Watt by Thomas H. Marshal: [http://www.history.rochester.edu/steam/marshall/]
- James Watt by Andrew Carnegie: [http://www.history.rochester.edu/steam/carnegie/] Watt, James Watt, James Watt, James Watt, James Watt, James Watt, James Watt, James Watt, James Watt, James Watt, James Watt, James Watt, James Watt, James ja:ジェームズ・ワット simple:James Watt

James G. Watt
thumb James Gaius Watt (born January 31, 1938 in Lusk, Wyoming) served as U.S. Secretary of the Interior under President Ronald Reagan from 1981 to 1983. Watt attended the University of Wyoming, earning a bachelor's degree in 1960 and a law degree in 1962. Watt's first political job was as an aide to Senator Milward Simpson, whom he met through Simpson's son, Alan Simpson. In 1966, Watt became the secretary to the natural resources committee and environmental pollution advisory panel of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. In 1969, Watt was appointed the deputy assistant secretary of water and power development in the Department of the Interior. In 1975, Watt was appointed the vice-chairman of the Federal Power Commission. In 1976, Watt founded the Mountain States Legal Foundation. A number of attorneys who worked for Watt at the foundation later assumed positions of responsibility in the federal government, including Ann Veneman and Gale Norton. Watt's tenure as Secretary of the Interior was marked by controversy, stemming primarily from his alleged hostility to environmentalism and his support of the development and use of federal lands by foresting, ranching, and other commercial interests. Watt's conservative strain of born-again Christianity also came in for scrutiny and criticism in some quarters, as when (in 1983) he banned The Beach Boys from performing their annual Fourth of July concert on the National Mall on the grounds that rock concerts drew "an undesirable element." [http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20040725/news_m1a25timelin.html] Later in 1983 Watt was made to resign as a result of a controversy that arose because he told an ethnic joke. In 1995, Watt was indicted on 18 counts of felony perjury and obstruction of justice by a federal grand jury. The indictments were due to false statements made to a grand jury investigating influence peddling at the Department of Housing and Urban Development where he had been a lobbyist in the mid to late 1980s. On January 2, 1996, as part of a plea bargain, Watt pled guilty to a misdemeanor count of withholding documents from a federal grand jury. On March 12, 1996 he was sentenced to 5 years probation and forced to pay a $5000 fine and perform 500 hours of community service. [http://www.cnn.com/US/Newsbriefs/9603/03-12/index.html]
Quotes
"That is the delicate balance the Secretary of the Interior must have: to be steward for the natural resources for this generation as well as future generations. I do not know how many future generations we can count on before the Lord returns; whatever it is we have to manage with a skill to leave the resources needed for future generations." -- James G. Watt, testimony before the House Interior Committee, February 1981 "My responsibility is to follow the Scriptures which call upon us to occupy the land until Jesus returns." -- James G. Watt, The Washington Post, May 24, 1981 "I never use the words Democrats and Republicans. It's liberals and Americans." -- James G. Watt, 1982 "We have every mixture you can have. I have a black, a woman, two Jews and a cripple. And we have talent." -- James G. Watt, describing his staff to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on September 21, 1983; this comment led directly to his forced resignation; quoted from Bartlett's Online "Liberals have shifted government into a position of being neutral between right and wrong. By concentrating power in government institutions, liberals chisel at the three pillars of society: the family unit, work ethic and faith. That's not good for America." -- James G. Watt, interview, U.S. News and World Report, November 11, 1985
Quote controvery
Watt was reported as saying in public testimony: "after the last tree is felled, Christ will come back." This quotation was used by Bill Moyers in a newspaper column. Due to the popularity of Moyers' article, it is now widely believed that Watt actually said this in public testimony. However, the quote originated on page 229 of a book by Austin Miles, "Setting the Captives Free" (Prometheus Books, 1990)). Watt denied he ever said those words. Watt subsequently demanded, and received, a public apology from Moyers. Watt, James G. Watt, James G.

January 19
January 19 is the 19th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 346 days remaining (347 in leap years).
Events

- 1419 - Hundred Years' War: Rouen surrenders to Henry V of England which completed his conquest of Normandy.
- 1520 - Sten Sture the Younger, the Regent of Sweden, was mortally wounded at the Battle of Bogesund
- 1764 - John Wilkes is expelled from the British House of Commons for seditious libel.
- 1795 - Batavian Republic is proclaimed in the Netherlands. End of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands.
- 1806 - The United Kingdom occupies the Cape of Good Hope.
- 1829 - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust premieres.
- 1839 - British East India Company captures Aden.
- 1840 - Captain Charles Wilkes circumnavigates Antarctica, claiming what became known as Wilkes Land for the United States.
- 1853 - Giuseppe Verdi's opera Il Trovatore premieres in Rome.
- 1862 - The Confederacy suffers its first significant defeat in the American Civil War at the Battle of Mill Springs.
- 1883 - The first electric lighting system employing overhead wires begins service (Roselle, New Jersey) It was built by Thomas Edison.
- 1893 - Henrik Ibsen's play The Master Builder premieres in Berlin.
- 1899 - Anglo-Egyptian Sudan is formed.
- 1915 - George Claude patents the neon discharge tube for use in advertising.
- 1915 - German zeppelins bomb the cities of Great Yarmouth and King's Lynn in the United Kingdom killing more than 20, in the first major aerial bombardment of a civilian target.
- 1918 - Finnish Civil War: The first serious battles between the Red Guards and the White Guard.
- 1920 - The United States Senate votes against joining the League of Nations.
- 1935 - Coopers Inc. sold the world's first briefs.
- 1937 - Howard Hughes sets a new air record by flying from Los Angeles to New York City in 7 hours, 28 minutes, 25 seconds.
- 1941 - World War II: British troops attack Italian-held Eritrea.
- 1942 - World War II: Japanese forces invade Burma.
- 1945 - World War II: Soviet forces liberate ghetto of Lodz. Out of 230,000 inhabitants in 1940, less than 900 had survived Nazi occupation.
- 1946 - General Douglas MacArthur establishes the International Military Tribunal for the Far East in Tokyo to try Japanese war criminals.
- 1949 - Cuba recognises Israel.
- 1953 - 68% of all United States television sets were tuned in to I Love Lucy to watch Lucy give birth.
- 1955 - The Scrabble board game debuts.
- 1966 - Indira Gandhi is elected Prime Minister of India.
- 1969 - Student Jan Palach died after setting himself on fire 3 days ago in Prague's Wenceslas Square to protest the invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Soviet Union in 1968. His funeral turned into another major protest.
- 1971 - Revival of No, No, Nanette premieres (46th Street Theatre, New York City).
- 1974 - The UCLA men's basketball team sees its 88-game winning streak end at the hands of Notre Dame.
- 1975 - Double Jay began broadcasting in Sydney, Australia.
- 1977 - President Gerald Ford pardons Iva Toguri D'Aquino (a.k.a. "Tokyo Rose").
- 1977 - Snow falls in Miami, Florida. This is the only time in the history of the city that snowfall has occurred.
- 1981 - Iran Hostage Crisis: United States and Iranian officials sign an agreement to release 52 American hostages after 14 months of captivity.
- 1983 - Klaus Barbie, Nazi war criminal, is arrested in Bolivia.
- 1983 - The Apple Lisa, the first commercial personal computer from Apple Computer, Inc. to have a graphical user interface and a computer mouse, is announced.
- 1993 - IBM announces a $4.97 billion loss for 1992, the largest single-year corporate loss in United States history.
- 1997 - Yasser Arafat returns to Hebron after more than 30 years and joins celebrations over the handover of the last Israeli-controlled West Bank city.
- 2002 - Michael Jordan, formerly of the Washington Wizards, plays his first game in Chicago since rejoining the NBA.
Births

- 399 - Pulcheria, Byzantine empress (d. 453)
- 1544 - King Francis II of France (d. 1560)
- 1736 - James Watt, Scottish inventor (d. 1819)
- 1739 - Joseph Bonomi the Elder, Italian architect (d. 1808)
- 1807 - Robert E. Lee, American Confederate general (d. 1870)
- 1808 - Lysander Spooner, American philosopher (d. 1887)
- 1809 - Edgar Allan Poe, American writer and poet(d. 1849)
- 1813 - Sir Henry Bessemer, English inventor (d. 1898)
- 1839 - Paul Cézanne, French painter (d. 1906)
- 1848 - John F. Stairs, Canadian businessman and statesman (d. 1904)
- 1851 - Jacobus Kapteyn, Dutch astronomer (d. 1922)
- 1863 - Werner Sombart, German sociologist (d. 1941)
- 1887 - Alexander Woollcott, American intellectual (d. 1943)
- 1909 - Hans Hotter, German bass-baritone (d. 2003)
- 1912 - Leonid Kantorovich, Russian economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1986)
- 1913 - Minnesota Fats, American billiards player (d. 1996)
- 1917 - John Raitt, American singer and actor (d. 2005)
- 1918 - John H. Johnson, American publisher (d. 2005)
- 1920 - Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, Peruvian United Nations Secretary General
- 1921 - Patricia Highsmith, American author (d. 1995)
- 1922 - Guy Madison, American actor (d. 1996)
- 1923 - Jean Stapleton, American actress
- 1923 - Markus Wolf, German spy
- 1924 - Nicholas Colasanto, American actor (d. 1985)
- 1924 - Jean-Francois Revel, French author
- 1926 - Fritz Weaver, American actor
- 1931 - Tippi Hedren, American actress
- 1931 - Robert MacNeil, Canadian journalist
- 1932 - Richard Lester, British director
- 1939 - Phil Everly, American musician
- 1941 - Colin Gunton, British theologian (d. 2003)
- 1942 - Michael Crawford, British singer and actor
- 1943 - Janis Joplin, American singer (d. 1970)
- 1943 - Princess Margriet of the Netherlands
- 1944 - Shelley Fabares, American actress
- 1944 - Peter Lynch, American investor
- 1944 - Dan Reeves, American football coach
- 1946 - Julian Barnes, English author
- 1946 - Dolly Parton, American singer and actress
- 1948 - Frank McKenna, Premier of New Brunswick and Canadian Ambassador
- 1949 - Robert Palmer, English singer and guitarist (d. 2003)
- 1949 - Dennis Taylor, Irish snooker player
- 1952 - David Patrick Kelly, American actor
- 1953 - Desi Arnaz Jr., American actor
- 1955 - Simon Rattle, English conductor
- 1955 - Paul Rodriguez, Mexican-born actor and comedian
- 1956 - Katey Sagal, American actress, singer, and writer
- 1966 - Floris Jan Bovelander, Dutch field hockey player
- 1966 - Stefan Edberg, Swedish tennis player
- 1969 - Junior Seau, American football player
- 1971 - Shawn Wayans, American actor, writer, and producer
- 1971 - John Wozniak, American singer and songwriter (Marcy Playground)
- 1973 - Drea de Matteo, American actress
- 1973 - Karen Lancaume, French actress (d. 2005)
- 1974 - Jaime Moreno, Bolivian footballer
- 1977 - Lauren, Cameroon footballer
- 1979 - Svetlana Khorkina, Russian gymnast
- 1981 - Asier Del Horno, Spanish footballer
- 1982 - Jodie Sweetin, American actress
- 1983 - Hikaru Utada, Japanese singer and songwriter
- 1985 - Rika Ishikawa, Japanese singer (Morning Musume)
- 1992 - Logan Lerman, American actor
- 1993 - Elián González, Cuban refugee.
Deaths

- 639 - Dagobert I, King of the Franks
- 1526 - Isabella of Burgundy, queen of Christian II of Denmark (b. 1501)
- 1576 - Hans Sachs, German Meistersinger (b. 1494)
- 1729 - William Congreve, English playwright (b. 1670)
- 1757 - Thomas Ruddiman, Scottish classical scholar (b. 1674)
- 1766 - Jean-Nicolas Servan, French architect and painter (b. 1695)
- 1785 - Jonathan Toup, English classical scholar and critic (b. 1713)
- 1833 - Louis Joseph Ferdinand Herold, French composer (b. 1791)
- 1847 - Charles Bent, New Mexico pioneer (assassinated)
- 1851 - Esteban Echeverría, Argentine writer (b. 1805)
- 1865 - Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, French philosopher and anarchist (b. 1809)
- 1869 - Carl Reichenbach, German chemist and philosopher (b. 1788)
- 1874 - August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben, German poet (b. 1798)
- 1878 - Henri Victor Regnault French physicist and chemist (b. 1810)
- 1905 - Debendranath Tagore, Indian philosopher (b. 1817)
- 1929 - Liang Qichao, Chinese scholar (b. 1873)
- 1968 - Ray Harroun, American race car driver (b. 1879)
- 1969 - Jan Palach, Czech student and political activist (suicide) (b. 1948)
- 1971 - Harry Shields, American musician (b. 1899)
- 1972 - Michael Rabin, American violinist (b. 1936)
- 1975 - Thomas Hart Benton, American painter (b. 1889)
- 1980 - William O. Douglas, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (b. 1898)
- 1990 - Rajneesh, Indian religious leader (b. 1931)
- 1990 - Herbert Wehner, German politician (b. 1906)
- 1991 - John Russell, American actor (b. 1921)
- 1996 - Don Simpson, American film producer (b. 1943)
- 1997 - James Dickey, American writer (b. 1923)
- 1998 - Carl Perkins, American guitarist (b. 1932)
- 2000 - Bettino Craxi, Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1934)
- 2000 - Hedy Lamarr, Austrian-born actress (b. 1913)
- 2004 - Harry E. Claiborne, American judge (suicide) (b. 1917)
- 2004 - David Hookes, Australian cricketer and coach (b. 1955)
- 2005 - Bill Andersen, New Zealand communist and trade union leader (b. 1924)
- 2005 - K. Sello Duiker, South African novelist (b. 1974)
Holidays and observances

- Eastern Orthodoxy — Julian Calendar Theophany (Epiphany)
- Bahá'í Faith — Feast of Sultán (Sovereignty) — First day of the 17th month of the Bahá'í Calendar
- Confederate Heroes Day in Texas
- Dr. Martin Luther Jr. day
External links

- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/19 BBC: On This Day] ---- January 18 - January 20 - December 19 - February 19 — listing of all days ko:1월 19일 ms:19 Januari ja:1月19日 simple:January 19 th:19 มกราคม

1736

Events

- January 26 - Stanislaus I of Poland abdicates his throne.
- February 12 - Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor weds Maria Theresa, mother of Marie Antoinette
- April 14 - Porteous Riots erupt in Edinburgh after execution of a smuggler Andrew Wilson when town guard captain John Porteous orders his men to fire at the crowd. Porteous is arrested later
- May 8 - Marriage of Frederick, Prince of Wales and Augusta of Saxe-Gotha.
- May 26 - Battle of Ackia: British and Chickasaw Native Americans defeat French troops.
- September 7 - Edinburgh crowd drags John Porteous out of his cell in Tolbooth prison and lynches him
- A French expedition led by Pierre Louis Maupertuis is sent by King Louis XV to Lapland to measure the length of a degree of the meridian, and proves that the Earth is flattened at the poles
- Real Arissona, namesake of the U.S. state Arizona is founded in what is now that state.
- Isaac Newton Publishes his Method of Fluxions
- Thomas Bayes publishes a defense of Isaac Newton's calculus
- Leonhard Euler solves the mathematical problem known as the seven bridges of Königsberg
- Anna I Empress of Russia, attacks Turkey
- Neustrelitz becomes the capital of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
- Genbun era begins in Japan
- George Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney becomes the first Field Marshal of Great Britain
- Bushehr is founded in Persia
- British Witchcraft Act is reformed, eliminating capital punishment for Witches, and instituting fines and jail time for claiming to be a witch or sorcerer
- First recorded use of a Bathing machine
- The Belgrade fortress is completed
- The era of Kyoho Reforms end in Japan
- The English town of Stony Stratford is almost completely consumed by fire
- Porteous Riots occur in Edinburgh Scotland
- Muhammad ibn Abd al Wahhab writes the Kitab at-tawhidt, marking the beginning of Wahhabism

Births

- January 7 - Andrew Adams, American judge (d. 1797
- January 19 - James Watt, Scottish inventor (d. 1819)
- January 25 - Joseph Louis Lagrange, Italian-born mathematician (d. 1813)
- February 3 - Johann Georg Albrechtsberger, Austrian musician (d. 1809)
- February 29 - Ann Lee, American religious leader (d. 1784)
- May 10 - George Steevens, English literary critic (d. 1800)
- May 29 - Patrick Henry, American patriot (d. 1799)
- June 7 - Fermín Lasuén, Spanish missionary (d. 1803)
- June 14 - Charles-Augustin de Coulomb, French physicist (d. 1806)
- June 21 - Enoch Poor, American general (d. 1780)
- June 25 - John Horne Tooke, English politician and philologist (d. 1812)
- July - Juan Bautista de Anza, Governor of the Spanish Province of New Mexico (d. 1788)
- September 10 - Carter Braxton, signer of the American Declaration of Independence (d. 1797)
- September 15 - Jean Sylvain Bailly, French astronomer (d. 1793)
- October 27 - James Macpherson, Scottish poet (d. 1796)
- John Francis Edward Acton, Prime Minister of Naples (d. 1811)
- Robert Jephson, Irish dramatist (d. 1803)
- Daniel Morgan, American pioneer, Congressman from Virginia, and general (d. 1802)
- Pierre le Pelley I, Seigneur of Sark (d. 1778)
- Alexander Runciman, Scottish painter (d. 1785)
- Claudius Smith, American revolutionary (d. 1779)
- Edward Waring, British mathematician (d. 1798)

Deaths

- January 31 - Filippo Juvara, Italian architect (b. 1678)
- February 7 - Stephen Gray, English dyer, astronomer, and scientist (b. 1666)
- March 16 - Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Italian composer (b. 1710)
- March 25 - Nicholas Hawksmoor, British architect
- April 24 - Eugene of Savoy, French-born Austrian general (b. 1663)
- April 30 - Johann Albert Fabricius, German scholar and bibliographer (b. 1668)
- September 16 - Gabriel Fahrenheit, German physicist and inventor (b. 1686)
- December 10 - António Manoel de Vilhena, Portuguese ruler of Malta (b. 1663)
- December 28 - Antonio Caldara, Italian composer (b. 1670)
- Ahmed III, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1637)
- Captain John Porteous, Scottish captain Category:1736 ko:1736년

August 19

August 19 is the 231st day of the year (232nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 134 days remaining.

Events

- 293 BC - Oldest known Roman temple to Venus Libitina founded on the Esquiline Hill; institution of Vinalia Rustica begins.
- 1561 - Queen Mary Stuart returns to Scotland.
- 1692 - Salem Witch Trials: In Salem, Massachusetts five women and a clergyman are executed after being convicted of witchcraft.
- 1745 - Jacobite Rising, Prince Charles Edward Stuart lands from a French warship in Glenfinnan, raises his standard and marches on London - the start of the Second Jacobite Rebellion known as "the 45"
- 1768 - Saint Isaac's Cathedral is founded in Saint Petersburg, Russia
- 1782 - Battle of Blue Licks: the last major battle of the American Revolutionary War, almost ten months after the surrender of the British commander Lord Cornwallis following the Battle of Yorktown.
- 1812 - War of 1812: American frigate USS Constitution defeats the British frigate HMS Guerrière off the coast of Nova Scotia.
- 1813 - Gervasio Antonio de Posadas joins Argentina's second triumvirate.
- 1839 - Presentation of Jacque Daguerre's new photographic process to the French Academy of Sciences.
- 1848 - California Gold Rush: The New York Herald breaks the news to the East Coast of the United States of the gold rush in California (although the rush started in January).
- 1862 - Indian Wars: During an uprising in Minnesota, Lakota warriors decide not to attack heavily-defended Fort Ridgely and instead turn to the settlement of New Ulm, killing white settlers along the way.
- 1895 - American frontier murderer and outlaw, John Wesley Hardin, is killed by an off-duty policeman in a saloon in El Paso, Texas.
- 1919 - Afghanistan gains independence from the United Kingdom.
- 1929 - The radio comedy show Amos and Andy makes its NBC debut starring Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll.
- 1934 - The first All-American Soap Box Derby is held in Dayton, Ohio.
- 1934 - The creation of the position Führer approved by the German electorate with 89.9% of the popular vote.
- 1942 - World War II: Operation Jubilee - The 2nd Canadian Infantry Division leads an allied forces amphibious assault on Dieppe, France.
- 1944 - World War II: Liberation of Paris - Paris rises against German occupation with the help of Allied troops.
- 1945 - Vietnam War: Viet Minh led by Ho Chi Minh take power in Hanoi, Vietnam.
- 1953 - Cold War: The CIA helps to overthrow the government of Mohammed Mossadegh in Iran and reinstate the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
- 1955 - In the Northeast United States, severe flooding caused by Hurricane Diane, claims 200 lives.
- 1960 - Cold War: In Moscow, downed American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers is sentenced to ten years imprisonment by the Soviet Union for espionage.
- 1960 - Sputnik program: The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 5 with the dogs Belka and Strelka, 40 mice, 2 rats and a variety of plants.
- 1961 - The Australian public-affairs show Four Corners starts on the ABC.
- 1965 - Japanese prime minister Eisaku Sato becomes the first post-World War II sitting prime minister to visit Okinawa.
- 1975 - The cricket test match between England and Australia is called off after the pitch is vandalised by supporters of George Davis.
- 1980 - Saudia Flight 163, a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar burns after making an emergency landing at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, killing 301 people.
- 1981 - Gulf of Sidra Incident: Two Libyan Sukhoi Su-22 fighter jets intercept United States fighters over the Gulf of Sidra and are destroyed by them.
- 1987 - Hungerford Massacre: In the United Kingdom, Michael Ryan kills sixteen people with an assault rifle and then commits suicide.
- 1989 - Polish president Wojciech Jaruzelski nominates Solidarity activist Tadeusz Mazowiecki to be the first non-communist Prime Minister in 42 years.
- 1990 - Leonard Bernstein conducts his final concert, ending with Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 7.
- 1991 - Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev is overthrown by a coup. This leads to the fall of the Soviet Union
- 1999 - In Belgrade, tens of thousands of Serbians rally to demand the resignation of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia President Slobodan Milošević.
- 2002 - A Russian Mi-26 helicopter carrying troops is hit by a Chechen missile outside of Grozny, killing 118 soldiers.
- 2003 - A car-bomb attack on UN headquarters in Iraq kills the agency's top envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello and 21 other employers.
- 2005 - The first-ever joint military exercise between Russia and China, called Peace Mission 2005 begins.

Births

- 1398 - Marqués de Santillana, Spanish poet (d. 1458)
- 1557 - Frederick I, Duke of Württemberg (d. 1608)
- 1590 - Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland, English soldier (d. 1649)
- 1596 - Elizabeth of Bohemia (d. 1662)
- 1621 - Gerbrand van den Eeckhout, Dutch painter (d. 1674)
- 1631 - John Dryden, English poet (d. 1700)
- 1646 - John Flamsteed, English astronomer (d. 1719)
- 1686 - Eustace Budgell, English writer (d. 1737)
- 1686 - Nicola Porpora, Italian composer (d. 1768)
- 1689 - Samuel Richardson, English writer (d. 1761)
- 1711 - Edward Boscawen, British admiral (d. 1761)
- 1743 - Madame du Barry, French courtesan (d. 1793)
- 1870 - Bernard Baruch, American financier (d. 1965)
- 1871 - Orville Wright, American aviation pioneer (d. 1948)
- 1875 - Stjepan Seljan, Croatian explorer (d. 1936)
- 1878 - Manuel Quezon, President of the Philippines (d. 1944)
- 1881 - Georges Enescu, Romanian composer (d. 1955)
- 1883 - Coco Chanel, French clothing designer (d. 1971)
- 1883 - Elsie Ferguson, American film actress (d. 1961)
- 1892 - Alfred Lunt, American actor (d. 1977)
- 1896 - Olga Baclanova, Russian-born actress (d. 1974)
- 1902 - Ogden Nash, American poet (d. 1971)
- 1906 - Philo T. Farnsworth, American inventor and television pioneer (d. 1971)
- 1907 - Thurston B. Morton, American politician (d. 1982)
- 1913 - Richard Simmons, American actor (d. 2003)
- 1915 - Ring Lardner, Jr., American actor and screenwriter (d. 2000)
- 1919 - Malcolm Forbes, American publisher (d. 1990)
- 1921 - Gene Roddenberry, American television producer (d. 1991)
- 1925 - Claude Gauvreau, Canadian playwright, poet, and polemicist (d. 1971)
- 1926 - Arthur Rock, American venture capitalist
- 1930 - Frank McCourt, Irish-born author
- 1931 - Willie Shoemaker, American jockey (d. 2003)
- 1935 - Bobby Richardson, baseball player
- 1938 - Diana Muldaur, American actress, dog breeder, and dog judge
- 1939 - Ginger Baker, English musician
- 1944 - Charles B. Wang, Chinese-born philanthropist
- 1940 - Johnny Nash, American singer
- 1940 - Jill St. John, American actress
- 1942 - Fred Thompson, U.S. Senator from Tennessee and actor
- 1945 - Ian Gillan, English singer
- 1946 - Bill Clinton, 42nd President of the United States
- 1946 - Beat Raaflaub, Swiss conductor
- 1947 - Gerard Schwarz, American conductor
- 1950 - Jennie Bond, British journalist
- 1951 - John Deacon, English musician (Queen)
- 1952 - Jonathan Frakes, American actor and director
- 1955 - Peter Gallagher, American actor
- 1956 - Adam Arkin, American actor
- 1958 - Anthony Muñoz, American football player
- 1960 - Morten Andersen, American football player
- 1963 - John Stamos, American actor
- 1965 - Kyra Sedgwick, American actress
- 1966 - Lee Ann Womack, American musician
- 1969 - Matthew Perry, American actor
- 1973 - Crown Princess Mette Marit of Norway
- 1973 - Callum Blue, British actor
- 1979 - David Douglas American drummer (Relient K)
- 1980 - Darius Danesh, Scottish singer
- 1982 - Erika Christensen, American actress
- 1983 - Tammin Sursok, Australian actress

Deaths

- 14 - Augustus, Roman Emperor (b. 63 BC)
- 1186 - Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany (b. 1158)
- 1245 - Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence (b. 1195)
- 1284 - Alphonso, Earl of Chester, son of Edward I of England (b. 1273)
- 1297 - Saint Louis of Toulouse, French Catholic bishop (b. 1274)
- 1493 - Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1415)
- 1580 - Andrea Palladio, Italian architect (b. 1508)
- 1646 - Alexander Henderson, Scottish theologian
- 1662 - Blaise Pascal, French mathematician, physicist, and philosopher (b. 1623)
- 1753 - Balthasar Neumann, German architect (b. 1687)
- 1819 - James Watt, Scottish inventor (b. 1736)
- 1822 - Jean Baptiste Joseph Delambre, French mathematician (b. 1749)
- 1872 - King Charles XV / Carl IV of Sweden and Norway (b. 1826)
- 1889 - Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam, French writer (b. 1838)
- 1895 - John Wesley Hardin, American gunfighter (b. 1853)
- 1923 - Vilfredo Pareto, Italian sociologist and economist (b. 1845)
- 1929 - Sergei Diaghilev, Russian ballet impresario (b. 1872)
- 1936 - Federico García Lorca, Spanish author (b. 1898)
- 1954 - Alcide De Gasperi, Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1881)
- 1957 - David Bomberg, English painter (b. 1890)
- 1959 - Jacob Epstein, American-born sculptor (b. 1880)
- 1967 - Hugo Gernsback, Luxembourg-born editor and publisher (b. 1884)
- 1968 - George Gamow, Ukrainian-born physicist (b. 1904)
- 1970 - Paweł Jasienica, Polish historian (b. 1909)
- 1976 - Alastair Sim, Scottish actor and former rector of Edinburgh University (b. 1900)
- 1977 - Groucho Marx, American comedian and actor (b. 1890)
- 1980 - Otto Frank, father of Anne Frank
- 1994 - Linus Pauling, American chemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry and Peace (b. 1901)
- 1995 - Pierre Schaeffer, French composer (b. 1910)
- 2003 - Carlos Roberto Reina, President of Honduras (b. 1926)
- 2003 - Sérgio Vieira de Mello, Brazilian diplomat (b. 1948)
- 2005 - Bueno de Mesquita, Dutch comedian and actor (b. 1918)
- 2005 - Mo Mowlam, British politician (b. 1949)

Holidays and observances

- Roman festivals - Vinalia Rustica celebrated in honor of Venus Libitina commemorating the founding of the oldest known temple to her, on the Esquiline Hill, in 293 BC on this date.
- RC saints - Saint Sebald, Saint Louis of Toulouse, Jean-Eudes de Mézeray
- Afghanistan - Afghan Independence Day see above: 1919
- National Day of the Filipino Language, Philippines - Holiday for Quezon City, Quezon Province and other municipalities named after Manuel Quezon
- National Aviation Day, USA
- Ghost Festival, the 14th day in the 7th lunar month in the Chinese calendar (2005)

External links

- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/19 BBC: On This Day]
- [http://www.tnl.net/when/8/19 Today in History: August 19] ---- August 18 - August 20 - July 19 - September 19 -- listing of all days ko:8월 19일 ms:19 Ogos ja:8月19日 simple:August 19 th:19 สิงหาคม

1819

1819 common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar).

Events

- January 17 - Simón Bolívar proclaims the Republic of Gran Colombia
- January 29 - Sir Stamford Raffles lands on the island of Singapore
- February 6 - Formal treaty between Sultan Hussein of Johor and the British Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles originates Singapore
- February 15 - The United States House of Representatives agrees to Tallmadge Amendment to bar slaves from new state of Missouri--opening vote in controversy that leads to Missouri Compromise
- February 22 - Spain cedes Florida to the United States. (See Adams-Onís Treaty)
- March 1 - USS Columbus launched
- March 20 – Burlington Arcade opened in London
- May 22 - The SS Savannah leaves port at Savannah, Georgia on a voyage to become the first steamship to cross the Atlantic Ocean. The ship will arrive at Liverpool, England on June 20
- August 6 Norwich University founded by Captain Alden Partridge in Vermont as the first private military school in the United States
- August 7 – Battle of Boyacá in Colombia – Simón Bolívar wins
- August 16 - Peterloo massacre in St. Peter's Field, Manchester, UK. Cavalry charge into a crowd of protesters causes deaths of 400.
- December 14 - Alabama is admitted as the 22nd U.S. state.

Month/day unknown

- Panic of 1819 - first major financial crisis in the United States
- 'Ai Noa in Hawaii.
- French paradox first identified.
- Physician Dr. Thomas Sewall convicted on multiple counts of grave robbing in Massachusetts.

Births

- February 8 - John Ruskin, English writer, artist, and social critic (d. 1900)
- February 11 - Samuel Parkman Tuckerman, American composer (d. 1890)
- February 14 - Joshua A. Norton, self-proclaimed "Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico"
- February 20 - Alfred Escher, Swiss politician, railroad entrepreneur (d. 1882)
- February 22 - James Russell Lowell, American poet and essayist (d. 1891)
- March 3 - Gustave de Molinari, Belgian economist (d. 1912)
- April 4 - Queen Maria II of Portugal (d. 1853)
- April 9 - Annibale de Gasparis, Italian astronomer (d. 1892)
- April 11 - Charles Hallé, German pianist and conductor (d. 1895)
- April 18 - Franz von Suppé, Austrian composer (d. 1895)
- April 28 - Ezra Abbot, American Biblical scholar (d. 1884)
- May 5 - Stanisław Moniuszko, Polish composer (d. 1872)
- May 24 - Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom (d. 1901)
- May 31 - Walt Whitman, American poet (d. 1892)
- June 5 - John Couch Adams, English astronomer (d. 1892)
- June 10 - Gustave Courbet, French painter (d. 1877)
- June 20 - Jacques Offenbach, German-born composer (d. 1880)
- July 19 - Gottfried Keller, Swiss writer (d. 1890)
- August 1 - Richard Dadd, British painter (d. 1886)
- August 1 - Herman Melville, American novelist (d. 1891)
- August 13 - Sir George Gabriel Stokes, Irish mathematician and physicist (d. 1903)
- August 25 - Allan Pinkerton, American detective (d. 1884)
- August 26 - Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Prince Consort to Queen Victoria (d. 1861)
- September 13 - Clara Schumann, German composer and pianist (d. 1896)
- September 17 - Thomas Hendricks, Vice President of the United States (d. 1885)
- September 22 - Wilhelm Wattenbach, German historian (d. 1897)
- October 20 - The Báb, Persian founder of the Bábi Faith (d. 1850)
- November 22 - George Eliot, British novelist (d. 1880)
- December 30 - Theodor Fontane, German writer (d. 1898)
- Felice Orsini, Italian revolutionary (d. 1858)

Deaths

- July 1 - Jemima Wilkinson, American preacher (b. 1754)
- August 19 - James Watt, Scottish inventor (b. 1736)
- August 23 - Oliver Hazard Perry, American naval officer (b. 1785)
- September 12 - Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, Prussian general (b. 1742)
- December 5 - Friedrich Leopold Graf zu Stolberg, German poet (b. 1750)
- December 19 - Sir Thomas Fremantle, English naval officer and politician (b. 1765)
- Kamehameha I, King of Hawaii Category:1819 ko:1819년 ms:1819

Inventor

An inventor is a person who creates new inventions, typically technical devices such as mechanical, electrical or software devices or methods. Although some inventors may also be scientists, most of them are engineers in fact as they base their work on the discoveries of other scientists, experimenting with practical applications and combinations of those discoveries, and with improvements and combinations of existing devices, to create new useful devices. Inventorship is a key determination in establishing patent rights. The system of patents was established to encourage inventors by granting limited-term, limited monopoly on inventions determined to be sufficiently novel, non-obvious, and useful. In the U.S. the patent right originates from the intellectual property clause of the Constitution. The capacity to invent can be developed. See TRIZ, the theory of inventive problem-solving.

Etymology

The word "inventor" comes form the latin verb invenire, invent-, to find. [http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=inventor&db=
- ][http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=invent]

Inventors clubs

Inventors clubs provide a support infrastructure for inventors, especially useful for lone inventors who otherwise may not have anyone impartial they can freely talk to about their inventions. There are hundreds, if not thousands of such clubs around the world (see also national associations or local UK clubs on [http://www.wrti.org.uk/clubs WRTI Clubs], the web site of the Wessex Round Table of Inventors).

External links

- [http://eepatents.com/collection.html A collection of patents for pioneering electrical engineering technologies, including some by the inventors listed above]
- [http://www.inventions.org/ Inventors Assistance League] (Non-profit organization operating since 1963)
- Associations of inventors
- [http://www.erfinder.at/tag-der-erfinder/ European Inventor's Day (German)] (Tag der Erfinder) (Germany)
- [http://www.inventor.hu/ Association of Hungarian Inventors (MAFE)] (Hungary)
- [http://www.uppfinnareforeningen.se/ The Swedish Inventors' Association] (Sweden)
- [http://www.wrti.org.uk Wessex Round Table of Inventors] (WRTI) (United Kingdom)
- [http://www.communityconnection.org/resource_pages/42646.html Inventors Association of St. Louis (IASL)] (United States)
- Category:Patent law ja:発明家

Engineer

An engineer is someone who practices the profession of engineering – a person who uses scientific knowledge to solve practical problems using technology. The title "engineer" is normally used only by individuals who have an academic degree (or equivalent work experience) in one of the engineering disciplines. The word "technologist" is sometimes used synonymously as it derives from the prefix Techno- and the suffix -ologist, hence, someone who studies technology. However in some Latin countries, "technologist" is a somewhat lower certification at a level between technician and engineer. In US railroad terminology, "engineer" denotes the operator of a locomotive. __NOTOC__

External links

- [http://engineering.wikicities.com/wiki/Engineers Engineers at Engineering Wiki] th:วิศวกร

Clyde river

The River Clyde (Cluaidh in Scottish Gaelic) is a major river in Scotland. At 106 miles (176 km) long, it is the tenth longest river in the UK, and the third longest in Scotland. Flowing through the major city of Glasgow, it was arguably the most important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire.

Course

The Clyde rises in the Lowther Hills in South Lanarkshire. It is formed by the confluence of two streams, the Daer Water (the headwaters of which are dammed to form the Daer Reservoir) and the Potrail Water. The Southern Upland Way crosses both streams before they meet at Watermeetings () to form the River Clyde proper. At this point the Clyde is only six miles (10 km) from Tweed's Well, the source of the River Tweed and eight miles from the Devil's Beef Tub, the source of the River Annan. From there it snakes northeastward before turning to the west, its flood plain used for many major roads in the area, until it reaches the town of Lanark. On the banks of the Clyde, Victorian industrialists David Dale and Robert Owen built their mills and the model settlement of New Lanark. The mills harness the power of the Falls of Clyde, the most spectacular of which is Cora Linn. A hydroelectric power station still generates electricity here, although the mills are now a museum and World Heritage Site. From New Lanark, the river turns northwest, before it is joined by the River Avon and flows into the West of Scotland conurbation. Between the towns of Motherwell and Hamilton the course of the river has been altered to create the artificial loch within Strathclyde Park. Part of the original course can still be seen, and lies between the island and the east shore of the loch. The river then flows through, Blantyre and Bothwell, where the ruined Bothwell Castle stands on a defensible promontory. Past Uddingston and into the southeast of Glasgow the river begins to widen, meandering a course through Rutherglen and into the city centre. Flowing past Glasgow Green, the river is artificially straightened and widened through the centre, and is still navigable as far as Finnieston, where the PS Waverley is docked. From there, it flows past the shipbuilding heartlands, through Govan, Partick, Whiteinch, Scotstoun and Clydebank, all of which housed major shipyards in the past, of which only two remain. The river flows out west of Glasgow, past Renfrew, out to Dumbarton, finally beyond Helensburgh and Port Glasgow to Greenock where it empties into the Firth of Clyde.

Industrial growth

Firth of Clyde The success of the Clyde at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution was driven by the location of Glasgow, being a port facing the Americas. Tobacco and cotton trade began the drive in the early

James Watt

Biography

Early years

Engineering achievements

Later years

Controversy

Legacy

Honors

Remembrance

Bibliography

External links

James G. Watt

Quotes

Quote controvery

January 19

Events

Births

Deaths

Holidays and observances

External links

1736

Events

Births

Deaths

August 19

Events

Births

Deaths

Holidays and observances

External links

1819

Events

Month/day unknown

Births

Deaths

Inventor

Etymology

Inventors clubs

See also

External links

Engineer

See also

Lists of engineers by discipline

Other related lists

External links

Clyde river

Course

Industrial growth