William Murdoch (sometimes spelled Murdock) was born on August 21, 1754, and died on November 15, 1839. He was a Scottish chemist, inventor, and mechanical engineer.
Murdoch worked for the company Boulton & Watt in Cornwall, England, where he helped build and install steam engines for ten years. After that, he spent most of his later life in Birmingham, England.
Murdoch is known for inventing the oscillating cylinder steam engine. He also introduced gas lighting in the early 1790s and created the term "gasometer." However, Jean-Pierre Minckelers, a Dutch-Belgian scholar, had already written about coal gasification and gas lighting in 1784. Minckelers used gas to light his university auditorium in Leuven, Belgium, starting in 1785. Additionally, Archibald Cochrane, 9th Earl of Dundonald, used gas to light his family estate in England from 1789 onward.
Murdoch made improvements to steam engines, including the sun and planet gear and the D slide valve. He also invented the steam gun and the pneumatic tube message system. He worked on one of the first British paddle steamers to cross the English Channel. In 1784, Murdoch built a prototype steam locomotive and made several discoveries in chemistry.
Murdoch remained an employee of Boulton & Watt and later became a partner until the 1830s. However, his achievements as an inventor are often overshadowed by the fame of Matthew Boulton, James Watt, and the company they founded.
Early life
William Murdoch was born in Bello Mill near Old Cumnock in Ayrshire, Scotland. He was the third of seven children and the first son to live past infancy. His father, John Murdoch, was a former soldier who worked with cannons and also built and maintained mills. John was a tenant at Bello Mill, which was part of the estate owned by James Boswell in Auchinleck. William attended school at Old Cumnock Kirk until he was ten years old, then studied at Auchinleck school under William Halbert, the author of a well-respected arithmetic textbook. William excelled in mathematics. He also learned about mechanics, hands-on experiments, and working with metal and wood by helping his father. Around 1763, William and his father built a "wooden horse," which was a tricycle powered by hand cranks. Some reports suggest William helped build a bridge over the River Nith in his youth. This may be connected to his father’s work on the Craikston Bridge over Lugar Water in 1774, which William likely assisted with. William also conducted experiments with coal gas by heating coal in a copper kettle inside a small cave near his father’s mill.
Birmingham
In 1777, when he was 23 years old, Murdoch walked from his home to Birmingham, a journey of more than 300 miles (480 km), to request a job with James Watt, a steam engine manufacturer. Watt and Murdoch likely knew each other through their connections with James Boswell, who had visited Watt's workshop in Soho multiple times. Watt's partner, Matthew Boulton, was impressed by Murdoch's wooden hat, which he made using a lathe he designed himself. Boulton hired Murdoch to work at the Soho Foundry, where he created patterns used to make machine parts. By 1778, Watt wrote:
Murdoch changed his name to "Murdock" after settling in England. He later worked on fitting and installing steam engines, often traveling from Soho to complete these tasks.
By 1779, Boulton wrote to Watt:
On his first independent job installing an engine at Wanlockhead Mine, Murdoch made the first of many improvements to the standard Boulton and Watt engine. He rearranged the gears so the steam valve could operate automatically through the movement of the exhaust shaft.
Cornwall
In September 1779, Murdoch was sent to Redruth in Cornwall as an important engineer, tasked with building, fixing, and maintaining Boulton & Watt steam engines. These engines were used to remove water from tin mines, and their performance directly affected how much tin and money could be taken from the mines. At that time, steam engines were not sold outright but operated and maintained by the builders for groups of people called "adventurers" (investors). The engine makers were paid based on a special formula that considered how well the engines worked, as described by Watt:
Because Murdoch was skilled at maximizing the performance of his engines, this directly influenced Boulton & Watt’s profits. By 1782, Boulton wrote:
Steam engines often had problems, so Murdoch spent much of his time traveling to repair and improve the engines he was responsible for.
At that time, many engineers in Cornwall competed with one another, each using different methods to achieve the same goals. This led to frequent copying of mechanical ideas and breaking of patents, sometimes through overheard conversations or observations of engine changes. Watt was especially concerned about his patents being violated, so Murdoch was also asked to report on and provide legal evidence against Boulton & Watt’s competitors. In the close-knit and secretive Cornwall of the time, this work could be risky. One of Murdoch’s colleagues told Watt:
This early form of industrial spying was not one-sided. Murdoch often inspected competitors’ engines to check if patents were being broken or to evaluate how well their engines worked.
Mechanical improvements and inventions
While working in Cornwall, Murdoch faced many mechanical issues with steam engines. These challenges led him to improve the basic steam engine designs used by Boulton and Watt. Starting in 1782, there is evidence that Murdoch worked with Watt on several inventions and improvements. However, there are very few letters from Murdoch to Watt in the Watt archive between 1780 and 1797. Some historians, like John Griffiths, suggest this may be because Watt's son, James Watt Junior, tried to protect his father's reputation by removing records of inventions that Watt had patented. It is likely that Murdoch’s employment contract, like those of other workers at Boulton and Watt, stated that any inventions he made would belong to his employers. Often, these employers filed patents and received benefits from these inventions.
One of Murdoch’s most important inventions, for which there is clear evidence, was the sun and planet gear. This device allowed steam power to create continuous circular motion, which could turn the wheels of mills or other machines. The gear used a vertical beam from a steam engine, connected to a "planet" (a small cogwheel on a rod). As the beam moved, the planet rotated around a larger "sun" cogwheel, which was attached to a drive shaft. This system helped Boulton and Watt avoid a patent held by James Pickard for a crank. James Watt patented this invention in his own name in October 1781. Samuel Smiles, a biographer of Boulton and Watt, credited Murdoch with the idea. A drawing of the sun and planet system in Murdoch’s handwriting from August 1781 also supports this. A letter from Boulton to a colleague in 1781 mentions Watt’s upcoming patents, further linking the invention to Murdoch.
Another major invention by Murdoch was a simpler and more efficient steam wheel in 1799. This device, a precursor to the steam turbine, used steam pressure to directly turn a wheel. By this time, Murdoch’s contract had changed, allowing him to patent this invention in his own name.
Murdoch also experimented with compressed air. He created the first pneumatic message system, which used compressed air to push messages through tubes to their destination. This system was later used by the London Pneumatic Despatch Company and was widely adopted, including by Harrods until at least the 1960s. Murdoch also used compressed air to ring a bell at his home to signal visitors.
Other inventions and experiments by Murdoch included: a machine for drilling wooden pipes in Cornwall (later adapted for stone pipes in 1810), a steam cannon used in 1803 to knock down a wall at Soho, a steam gun that fired 3 cm lead bullets in the same year, and machinery to grind and compress peat moss under high pressure to create a material resembling "the finest Jet."
Steam powered locomotion
An important invention for which William Murdoch received less recognition than expected was Britain's first working model of a steam carriage, or road locomotive, in 1784. A French engineer named Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot had already shown how useful such a device could be by building two full-sized working steam vehicles starting in 1769. One of these vehicles was designed to carry 4–5 tonnes. All that was needed was a more effective design.
The earliest record of Murdoch’s ideas for this type of transport appeared in March 1784 when his colleague in Cornwall, Thomas Wilson, wrote to James Watt about Murdoch’s “new scheme.” Watt’s responses suggested he did not believe the idea had a future. Worried about losing Murdoch’s help in Cornwall, Watt tried to convince him to abandon the plan.
Later, a letter from Boulton provided more details about Murdoch’s ideas. In the same letter, Boulton secretly encouraged Watt to include a plan for a steam-powered carriage in his patent application, which Watt did shortly after.
By this time, Murdoch had already built a working model of his steam carriage (now displayed at Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum). Witnesses reported that they saw the model move around Murdoch’s living room in Redruth in 1784. This is the first recorded example in Great Britain of a man-made machine moving completely on its own power.
Murdoch’s model was a three-wheeled vehicle about a foot tall. The engine and boiler were placed between the two larger back wheels, with a spirit lamp underneath to heat the water and a tiller at the front to turn the smaller front wheel. The model had several new features, like a safety valve on the boiler, a cylinder partially submerged in the boiler, and a new valve system similar to the D-slide valve.
Murdoch built more than one model as he continued testing his design. By August 1786, he had created at least one other model of a different size. However, between 1784 and 1786, Murdoch did not focus much on his steam carriage ideas because of his heavy workload for Boulton and Watt, his marriage in 1785, and the birth of his twins that same year. Soon after his twins were born, and with a second model already built, Murdoch tried to patent his invention. However, on the way to London, he met Boulton, who convinced him to return to Cornwall without registering the patent.
Boulton later wrote to Watt on September 2, 1795, about this decision. A public demonstration of Murdoch’s steam carriage took place in Rivers Great Room at the King’s Head hotel in Truro. This was the first public showing in Britain of steam locomotion in action.
Although there are no further mentions of Murdoch’s work on steam carriages in letters from Watt or Boulton after 1786, some evidence suggests he continued experimenting on his own. Some people believe he may have built a full-sized version of his invention.
One story often told is that Murdoch once tested his carriage outside on the road, and it moved so fast that he had to chase it. While chasing it, he met a local clergyman who was very upset, thinking the carriage’s smoke and fire looked like the devil. This story may be true, but it likely refers to a model rather than a full-sized carriage.
Another story, probably not true, claims Murdoch traveled between mines in a steam-powered carriage lit by gas. This is unlikely because roads at the time were not suitable for such travel. However, some argue that Murdoch may have built a full-sized steam carriage in the 1790s, which could be the source of this story.
An important fact for later steam locomotive development was that Richard Trevithick lived in Redruth near Murdoch’s home from 1797 to 1798. Trevithick would have seen Murdoch’s experiments and likely learned from his work. Murdoch’s son, John, also mentioned a visit by Trevithick and Andrew Vivian to see a model engine in 1794.
Without support from Boulton and Watt, who opposed Murdoch’s work because it required high-pressure steam, which Watt distrusted, Murdoch could not develop or promote his invention. Later, Trevithick and others took over the commercial development of steam locomotives.
Chemistry discoveries
In addition to his work with machines, Murdoch also studied chemistry and made several discoveries. One of these discoveries was the creation of iron cement in 1784. This cement was made from ammonium chloride and iron filings. Murdoch noticed this mixture accidentally formed a solid mass in his tool bag. The iron cement was used to strengthen the joints of steam engines, creating a strong and lasting seal.
Another discovery, for which Murdoch received a patent in 1791, was an early step in the development of aniline dyes and coatings. Although this invention was not used at the time, it laid the foundation for future advancements.
In 1795, Murdoch created a substitute for isinglass, a substance made from sturgeon used to clarify beer by removing impurities. Isinglass was expensive and had to be imported from Russia. Murdoch’s alternative was made from dried cod and cost much less than isinglass, which sold for 25 shillings per pound. The cost savings were so valuable that the Committee of London Brewers paid £2000 for the right to use his invention.
Murdoch’s isinglass replacement worked so well that it was used in a court case. Sir Humphry Davy, a well-known chemist, was asked if Murdoch’s product was suitable for clarifying beer. He confirmed it was appropriate for this purpose.
The use of Murdoch’s "isinglass made from British fish" helped reduce the need for imported materials in the brewing industry.
Gas lighting
The most important invention for which Murdoch is known is the use of gas lighting instead of oil or tallow for producing light. In 1792, he began testing gas, which was made by heating coal and other materials. Some people think these experiments happened in a cave. There is no clear information about when he first successfully showed this process working, but most sources say it was between 1792 and 1794. A few years before Murdoch, Jean-Pierre Minckelers, a Dutch-Belgian scholar, was the first to use gas lighting on a practical scale.
Before gas could be used for practical purposes, a method needed to be developed to produce and collect the gas. There is no agreement about when this process was perfected. However, many accounts say that by 1794, Murdoch was making coal gas using a small container with heated coals and a three- or four-foot iron tube attached. He then sent the gas through an old gun barrel and lit it to create light.
Murdoch’s home in Redruth was the first private house to be lit by gas.
Over the next few years, Murdoch tested the amount and type of gas in different materials and studied the best ways to transport, store, purify, and use it for lighting. William Fairbairn wrote that Murdoch sometimes used his gas in a portable lantern.
In 1798, Murdoch returned to Birmingham to work at the Soho foundry and continued his gas experiments. He lit parts of the Soho building, though not the entire building permanently at that time. In 1802, during the public celebration of the Peace of Amiens, he demonstrated his gas lighting by illuminating the outside of the Soho Foundry. The first industrial factory to be fully lit by gas was the Philips and Lee cotton mill in Manchester, which Murdoch completed in 1805, four years after he first proposed the idea. The mill initially had 50 gas lights, but this number increased to 904. The time it took to complete the project was partly due to Murdoch’s experiments and improvements to make gas lighting practical and cost-effective, such as using lime to remove the smell of gas and finding the best temperature to heat coal for maximum gas production. However, Murdoch also worked on other engine projects for Boulton and Watt, which took up much of his time.
Despite his early work with gas, Murdoch never earned money from this invention because he did not get a patent. This may have been because James Watt, Jr., advised him that the discovery was not patentable, and also because his earlier patent for an early form of aniline dye in 1791 failed commercially. This failure to apply for a patent, even though Boulton and Watt were involved in gas lighting, allowed other businesses, such as Murdoch’s former assistant Samuel Clegg and Frederick Albert Winsor, to take advantage of the growing gas industry. Boulton and Watt did not expand into the street and home lighting markets, which they dominated by 1809, possibly because they did not see the potential of these markets or were not interested in smaller projects. By May 1809, Boulton and Watt had little competition in the gas industry because they successfully lobbied Parliament to block the National Heat and Light Company’s request for a charter until 1812. However, they did not develop the gas market or improve the technology, and by 1814, they stopped working with gas. A few decades later, most towns in Britain were lit by gas, and many had their own gasworks.
In addition to lighting and heating, the process of making coal gas produced other useful substances. These included coke, ammonia, phenol (also called carbolic acid), which is a disinfectant and a component of bakelite, the first synthetic plastic made in 1910, and coal tar, which contains many organic chemicals. Coal tar was later used to create the first synthetic dye, mauve, by William Henry Perkin in 1856. In 1853, Charles Gerhardt discovered that coal tar also contained acetylsalicylic acid, now known as aspirin.
The Caledoniapaddle steamer
Boulton and Watt helped a little with early efforts to use steam power on boats. In 1807, they provided the engine for Robert Fulton’s North River Steamboat, the first steamboat to travel on the Hudson River (later called the Clermont). Murdoch was mainly in charge of designing and building the engine, and he worked with Fulton to finalize technical details. Boulton and Watt also supplied engines for other boats. However, their serious involvement in marine engineering began in 1817 when James Watt Jr. bought The Caledonia. Refitting the ship, including installing new engines, boilers, and making it seaworthy and fuel-efficient, was a difficult task. Murdoch, who often had health problems like fever and rheumatism, led this work. By August, the ship was tested on its route from Surrey Commercial Docks in London to Gravesend, where it initially reached speeds of 8 miles per hour (mph). During trials, Murdoch tested the ship’s fuel use and speed by changing paddle depth and using one or both engines. This improved speed to 12 mph (19 km/h).
During trials, The Caledonia raced against the Sons of Commerce, a competitor on the London to Gravesend route. The Boulton and Watt ship won both races, with a larger margin in the second. This led the Sons of Commerce to order a new steamboat engine from Boulton and Watt. Other orders followed, including from commercial customers and the Royal Navy. Murdoch became the main leader of this part of the business, with others relying on his expertise. From 1813 to 1825, Boulton and Watt built over 3,000 horsepower (2,200 kW) marine engines, which powered about 40 to 60 ships.
After the trials, The Caledonia crossed the English Channel. Watt Jr. took the ship to Rotterdam and up the Rhine to Koblenz.
Later years
In 1808, Murdoch wrote a paper titled "Account of the Application of Gas from Coal to Economical Purposes" and shared it with the Royal Society. That same year, he was given the Royal Society's Rumford Gold Medal for being the first person to both suggest and successfully use gas for practical purposes.
In 1817, Murdoch moved into a new house he built outside Birmingham. The house had several special features and new inventions he designed, such as gas lighting, a doorbell powered by compressed air, and a system to cool the air. Joshua Field described the cooling system as "a good stove for heating rooms with hot air that enters at convenient places." In 1815, Murdoch designed and installed the first gravity-powered, piped hot water system since ancient times at the Royal Pump Rooms in Leamington Spa.
In September 1830, at age 76 and in poor health, Murdoch ended his business partnership with Boulton & Watt, which had started in 1810. At that time, he was receiving £1,000 each year. The partnership ended because Boulton & Watt became less profitable, and Murdoch's health worsened. Murdoch died in 1839 at age 85. He was buried at St. Mary's Church in Handsworth.
Honours and awards
In 1892, during the celebration of the 100th anniversary of gas lighting, a bust of Murdoch was revealed by Lord Kelvin at the Wallace Monument in Stirling. Another bust of Murdoch, created by Sir Francis Legatt Chantrey, is located at St. Mary's Church.
Murdoch's life and achievements are honored in several ways. These include the Moonstones, a statue of Murdoch and Boulton and Watt made by William Bloye, and Murdock Road, all in Birmingham. A building named Murdoch House is also found in Rotherhithe, London.
The town of Redruth holds an annual event called Murdoch Day in June. The 2007 celebration featured a parade of students carrying banners with the theme "Earth, Wind, Fire and Water." It also marked the first public test of a full-size, working model of Murdoch's Steam Carriage.
In 2019, Murdoch was added to the Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame.