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.

Later Years

Murdoch wrote a paper, "Account of the Application of Gas from Coal to Economical Purposes" which was presented to the Royal Society in 1808. In that year he was awarded their Rumford Gold Medal for "both the first idea of applying, and the first actual application of gas to economical purposes".

Related Topics:
Royal Society - 1808

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In 1817 Murdoch moved into a large new house he had built outside Birmingham. The house incorporated a number of curiosities and innovations he has designed including gas lighting, a doorbell worked by compressed air and an air conditioning system: described by Joshua Field as "He has a good stove for heating the rooms with hot air which enters the rooms and staircases at convenient places."

Related Topics:
1817 - Doorbell - Air conditioning - Joshua Field

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In 1815 he designed and installed the first gravity fed piped hot water system since classical times at Leamington Spa Baths.

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In September 1830 Murdoch's employment with Boulton and Watt came to an end, at which point he was being paid £1,000 per year. The reasons for his discharge appear to be the increasing unprofitability of Boulton and Watt, leaving them short of money to pay his, admittedly high, wages; and Murdoch's increasing ill health.

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At the celebration of the centenary of gas lighting in 1892, a bust of Murdoch was unveiled by Lord Kelvin in the Wallace Monument, Stirling, and there is also a bust of him by Sir F. L. Chantrey at Handsworth Church, where he was buried.

Related Topics:
1892 - Wallace Monument - Stirling

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His life and works are commemorated by the Moonstones; a statue of him, Boulton and Watt, by William Bloye; and Murdock Road, all in Birmingham.

Related Topics:
Moonstones - Statue of him, Boulton and Watt - William Bloye - Birmingham

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