URPoint Details
Greenock is the birthplace of James Watt -- in 1736 -- the inventor of the steam engine. His statue stands in the Watt Library.
Watt followed in his father's trade of a mathematical instrument maker. He patented the steam engine in 1769 while working at the ironworks in Falkirk.
The unit of electrical power, named after him, was standardised in the 1880s.
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- Famous Locals