A meeting of the Lunar Society, which James Watt and Matthew Boulton were members of. The so-called 'Lunatics' encouraged discussion about innovations such as Watt's steam engine.
Image: Science Museum/SSPL
'A money-getting ingenious project'
James Watt is the technical pioneer most commonly associated with the steam engine. But Watt said he would 'rather face a loaded cannon than settle an account or make a bargain'. Without Matthew Boulton, Watt's great achievements might never have been brought to fruition.
Boulton was a skilled engineer, but his real vocation lay in
'rendering any new invention... useful to the public... as well as promoting the sale by his own exertions'.
What was Matthew Boulton's background?
