William Murdoch

William Murdoch (sometimes spelled Murdock) (August 21, 1754 - November 15, 1839) was a Scottish engineer and inventor. He was employed by the firm of Boulton and Watt and worked for them in Cornwall as a steam engine erector for ten years, spending most of the rest of his life in Birmingham. He was the inventor of gas lighting in the early 1790s and coined the term gasometer. In addition to gas he made a number of innovations to the steam engine, including the sun and planet gear and D slide valve, invented the steam gun and pneumatic tube message system, worked on the first British paddle steamer to cross the English Channel, built a prototype steam locomotive in 1784 and made a number of discoveries in the field of chemistry. He remained an employee of Boulton and Watt until the 1830's and his reputation as an independent inventor has tended to be obscured by the reputations of those two men and the firm they founded.

Birmingham

In 1777, at the age of 23, he walked to Birmingham, a distance of over 300 miles, in order to ask for a job with James Watt, the famous steam engine manufacturer. It is likely that he both Watt and Murdoch were already aware of each other due to their connections with James Boswell who had made several visits to Watt's workshop at Soho. Watt's partner Matthew Boulton was so impressed by Murdoch's wooden hat, made on a lathe of his own design that he gave him a job. Watt began his career with Bolton and Watt in the pattern shop of their Soho Foundry making patterns for the casting of machine parts. He progressed quickly and by 1778 Watt had written:

Related Topics:
1777 - Birmingham - James Watt - Steam engine - Matthew Boulton - Wooden - Lathe - Soho Foundry - 1778

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if William Murdoch is not at home he should be sent for immediately as he understands the patterns and care must be taken to avoid mistakes of which our engine shop has been too guilty.

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Murdoch soon progressed to work in fitting and erecting steam engines and was often dispatched away from Soho for this work.

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By 1779 Boulton was writing to Watt:

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I think Wm. Murdock a valuable man and deserves every civility and encouragement.

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On one of his first solo jobs erecting an engine, at Wanlochhead Mine, Murdoch made the first of many improvements to the standard Boulton and Watt engine by rearranging the gears to enable the steam valve to be automatically worked by the action of the exhaust shaft.

Related Topics:
Engine - Gears - Valve

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Murdoch also became a member of the Lunar Society, a regular gathering of influential scientists and industrialists from around Birmingham.

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