John “Iron-Mad” Wilkinson (1728 – 14 July 1808) was an English businessperson who started making cast iron and using cast-iron products during the Industrial Revolution. He created a method to make cannons more accurate and reliable than before. He also developed a way to precisely shape large steam engine cylinders, which were needed for the engines made by James Watt.
Claude-François-Dorothée, Marquis de Jouffroy d’Abbans (September 30, 1751 – July 18, 1832), was a French ship designer and engineer. He invented the first steamboat.
Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot was a French inventor born on February 26, 1725, and he died on October 2, 1804. He created the world’s first working and full-sized self-moving vehicle called the “Fardier à vapeur,” which is considered the first automobile ever made.
Edmund Cartwright FSA (24 April 1743 – 30 October 1823) was an English inventor. He studied at Oxford University and later created the power loom. At the age of 19, he married Elizabeth McMac.
Samuel Crompton was born on December 3, 1753, and died on June 26, 1827. He was an English inventor who played an important role in the development of the spinning industry. He created the spinning mule, a machine that greatly changed the industry worldwide.
George Stephenson (9 June 1781 – 12 August 1848) was an English civil engineer and mechanical engineer. He was well-known as the “Father of Railways” and was seen by the Victorians as a model for hard work and a desire to improve. The rail gauge he chose, sometimes called the “Stephenson gauge,” became the standard for most railways worldwide.
Alessandro Giuseppe Antonio Anastasio Volta was an Italian scientist who studied chemistry and physics. He made important contributions to the understanding of electricity and power. Volta is known for inventing the electric battery and discovering methane, a type of gas.
Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier ( / l ə ˈ v w ɑː z i eɪ / lə- VWAH -zee-ay ; French: [ɑ̃twan lɔʁɑ̃ də lavwazje] ; 26 August 1743 – 8 May 1794), also known as Antoine Lavoisier after the French Revolution, was a French nobleman and chemist. He played a major role in the chemical revolution of the 18th century and greatly influenced the history of chemistry and biology. It is widely believed that Lavoisier’s major achievements in chemistry came from shifting the science from describing things to using numbers for precise measurements.
Joseph Priestley FRS (pronounced /ˈpriːstli/; born March 24, 1733; died February 6, 1804) was an English scientist, religious leader, teacher, and thinker who studied many subjects. He wrote over 150 books and conducted experiments in different areas of science. Priestley discovered oxygen independently by heating mercury oxide in 1774.
James Watt FRS FRSE ( / w ɒ t / ; 30 January 1736 (19 January 1736 OS ) – 25 August 1819) was a Scottish inventor, engineer, and chemist who improved Thomas Newcomen’s 1712 steam engine with his own design, the Watt steam engine, in 1776. This improvement was important for the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain and other parts of the world. While working as an instrument maker at the University of Glasgow, Watt became interested in steam engine technology.