James Watt was born in Greenock, Scotland in 1736 and became an instrument maker for Glasgow University. He made some important modifications to the steam engine. First, he made it more efficient, although it was still only used as a pump. Then he made changes to the piston so that it could produce rotary motion instead of just up-and-down movements. This enabled it to be used for many different applications, which was very important to the industrial revolution. Watt set up a business with Matthew Boulton in 1775 in Birmingham to manufacture his improved steam engines. He also invented the pressure indicator, used to measure engines' power. The 'watt' power unit is named after him. He also independently discovered that water is made of hydrogen and oxygen, and invented a machine for copying sculpture and a press for copying letters. Watt moved to Heathfield Hall, near Birmingham, where he died in 1819.
