Watt was born in Greenock, Scotland, January 19, 1736. At the age of thirteen he showed exceptional ability in mathematics and became known as an outstanding student of the subject. In 1756 he went to the University of Glasgow to serve as mathematical instrument maker for its mathematics and science departments, and there Watt became interested in steam engines.
After he had been at the university for almost eight years, Watt was asked to repair a model of the Newcomen steam engine. The tremendous amount of steam used by the model aroused him, and he resolved to invent a more efficient machine. He reasoned that if a cylinder and vacuum were connected, steam would rush into the vacuum and there it could be condensed without cooling the cylinder.
In 1774 Watt and Matthew Boulton formed a business partnership and organized a company to manufacture engines. The business was an immediate success. Thereafter, James Watt was financially able to carry out scientific research and to work on the invention of many machines and parts of machines. He proved that water is not an element, but a compound substance.
