James Watt

Hello! My name is James Watt. I was born a long, long time ago, in the year 1736, in a place called Scotland. My daddy had a big workshop full of tools. It was my favorite room! I loved to take my toys apart to see what was inside. Then, I would put all the little pieces back together again.

One day, I watched a teapot. Puffy, puffy steam came out. Whoosh! The steam was so strong it pushed the lid up. I thought, 'Wow, steam has power!'. Back then, there were big steam machines, but they did not work very well. In the year 1765, I had a super good idea. I found a way to make the steam stay hot and strong. That way, it could work hard and not get tired.

My new steam engine was amazing! It was as strong as lots of horses. My good friend, Matthew Boulton, helped me. In 1775, we started to build my new machines together. Our engines helped people do so many things! They could pump water, make clothes, and help people go places faster. It was not magic, it was science!

I lived to be 83 years old, and I was always dreaming up new ideas. People remember me because my steam engine helped change the world. They even named something after me to say thank you. It is called a 'watt,' and it helps us measure power. When you see a light bulb shine bright, you can think of me and my puffy, powerful steam.