James Watt and the Steam Engine

James Watt was a sickly boy who was often bullied at school. He wasn’t self-confident and doubted his ability. He was often paralyzed by the fear of going into poverty. He lived most of his life with ferocious headaches. His first wife, who always supported and encouraged him, died when he was still a relatively young man.

Yet he overcame these problems to become one of the most important inventors in world history. He made improvements to the primitive steam engines so that they could provide power for the factories that were springing up in England. These factories completely changed the way that people worked and lived, and made James Watt a wealthy, well-known man.