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William Murdoch ( 1754-1839 )
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
William Murdoch
(1754-1839) was a pioneer of gas lighting. His home, a cottage in
Boulton and Watt's Soho Foundry, was the first deomstic residence in
the world to be so lit.
He was born near
Cumnock, Ayrshire in Scotland. In 1877, he walked to Birmingham, a
distance of over 300 miles, in order to ask for a job with James Watt,
the famous steam engine manufacturers. Matthew Boulton, impressed by
Murdoch's wooden hat, made on a lathe of his own design, gave him a job
and within a short term he was well respected within the firm.
In 1779 he was sent
to Redruth in Cornwall as a senior engine erector. While there he
occupied his leisure time in design and invention. Among his
innovations were Britain's first steam-powered roadster in 1785 and gas
lighting in 1792.
He is remebered by the Moonstones and a statue of him, Boulton and Murdoch, by William Bloye, all in Birmingham.
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