Voting Station

James Watt

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Craftsman

The Resume

    (January 19, 1736-August 19, 1819)
    Patented separate condensing chamber for the steam engine (1769)
    Started a business to manufacture the Watt steam engine (1774)
    Patented a steam locomotive (1784)
    Adopted both the centrifugal governor (1788) and pressure gauge (1790) to the steam engine
    Member of the Lunar Society

Why he might be annoying:

    He was a thin weakling as a child.
    He suffered from severe toothaches and migraines.
    He avoided the streets of London during wars so he would not be drafted into the military.
    He borrowed his addition of a centrifugal governor to a steam engine from similar devices already installed in water mills.
    He discovered the idea of a more efficient engine could work in 1765, but it was over 11 years before he could actually see his invention in practice.
    He lent out his engines to businesses and he was paid for their use. As he had the patent on his efficient form of engine, he held a monopoly on the steam engine and could charge whatever he wanted.
    His developments to the steam engine lead to the environmental destruction seen during the Industrial Revolution.

Why he might not be annoying:

    The measurement of power (in watts) is named after him.
    He introduced the horsepower unit.
    He worked 10 hours a day in a cold workshop in order to shorten his apprenticeship with another instrument maker.
    As he made the steam engine his life's work, with several refinements it became economically viable and was a key invention contributing to the Industrial Revolution.
    He lived to see the practical use of his invention.
    There are four colleges and fifty roads named after him in the United Kingdom.

Credit: Captain Howdy


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 14 Votes: 35.71% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 9 Votes: 22.22% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 13 Votes: 38.46% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 12 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 9 Votes: 55.56% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 16 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 9 Votes: 44.44% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 55 Votes: 47.27% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 23 Votes: 52.17% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 15 Votes: 20.0% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 14 Votes: 42.86% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 124 Votes: 66.94% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 55 Votes: 38.18% Annoying
    In 2008, Out of 23 Votes: 43.48% Annoying
    In 2007, Out of 157 Votes: 43.95% Annoying
    In 2006, Out of 108 Votes: 40.74% Annoying
    In 2005, Out of 326 Votes: 42.64% Annoying