Lots of great events took place in 2019 to celebrate the life and work of James Watt – in the UK and beyond. Click through the links below for more information.
(Please note that this is an archive page and that some links may no longer work.)
Please note that some listings are hosted on external websites. Click the back button on your browser to return to this website.
Diary dates were added to this page over the course of 2019; events were also publicised on Twitter @Watt2019
- You can also check our partners in Birmingham on the James Watt 2019 site.
- English events for 2019 were listed in this downloadable leaflet (PDF)
- The University of Glasgow set up a dedicated events page for its Watt events.
JANUARY 2019
- Saturday, January 5: 250th anniversary of Watt’s patent (to use a separate condenser to improve the steam engine).
- Monday, January 7 until August 29: Watt An Inspiration exhibition, Museum, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh
- Friday, January 18: James Watt Supper, Bo’ness
- Friday, January 18: Launch events in Greenock
- Saturday, January 19: Watt birthday / University of Glasgow announces Watt celebrations
- Mini exhibition on James Watt and his local links, Bo’ness Library
FEBRUARY 2019
- From February 4: “When Art Tells a Tale” – creative arts project in Inverclyde
- Tuesday, February 5: The Lunar Society’s welcome to a Scottish inventor, Birmingham and Midland Institute, Birmingham
- Thursdays – on February 14, 21, and 28: Footprints in Time talks, The Helix Visitor Centre, Falkirk/Grangemouth
- Tuesday, February 19: Women of excellent understanding: The wives and daughters of the eighteenth century Lunar Society, Soho House, Birmingham
- Wednesday, February 20: In the footsteps of James Watt Jnr: a journey to Kennetpans distillery in Scotland, Quinborne Community Centre, Quinton
- Wednesday, February 20: Smethwick Engine Steaming Day, Thinktank, Birmingham
- Saturday, February 23: The Boulton & Watt Bloomfield Engine, Glebefields Library, Tipton, West Midlands.
- End of February: Storytelling in Inverclyde Council libraries to celebrate James Watt
- “Power and Processes” exhibition, Heriot-Watt University, Galashiels (until June 28, 2019).
MARCH 2019
- Sunday, March 3: Watt Make and Take, Soho House, Birmingham
- Saturday, March 9: An introduction To The Papers of James Watt and Family, Library of Birmingham
- Wednesday, March 13: Unveiling of James Watt Plaque,
- Saturday, March 16: Full Steam Ahead! Fun day at Scottish Maritime Museum, Irvine.
- Wednesday, March 20: Talk on James Watt and Kinneil, Falkirk Local History Society, Trinity Church, Falkirk.
- Saturday, March 23: Open day at Kinneil House, Bo’ness (which boasts a Watt workshop in the grounds).
APRIL 2019
- Friday, April 5: Watt Inventions, The Lighthouse Young People’s Centre, Birmingham
- Friday, April 12: A Visit to the Assay Office Silver Collection, Assay Office, Birmingham
- Saturday, April 13: James Watt – Powering Canals and Industry, Library of Birmingham
- Wednesday, April 17: Smethwick Engine Steaming Day, Thinktank, Birmingham
- Thursday, April 18: Casting Creations, The Coffin Works Museum, Birmingham
- Exhibition on Watt at Engine Shed, Stirling (running until Sept.) Details TBC.
- Thursday, April 25: James Watt – Power to the World, Exhibition, The Engine Shed, Stirling (until August 23).
- Thursday, April 25: Watt A Great Idea! STICK conference at The Engine Shed, Stirling.
- Saturday, April 27: Kinneil House open day – incl. free Watt Cottage tours – at Kinneil Estate, Bo’ness.
- Saturday, April 27: Watt’s Wanderings, free walking tour from St. Mary’s Church, Handsworth, Birmingham
- Sunday, April 28: Family Day: Innovative Inventors! Verdant Works Museum, Dundee
MAY 2019
- Tuesday, May 7: Publication of new book – “The Life and Legend of James Watt”
- Tuesday, May 14: Watt’s Wanderings, free walking tour from Handsworth Leisure Centre in Birmingham (women only event).
- Thursday, May 16: Watt’s Wanderings, free walking tour from Handsworth Association of Schools, Birmingham
- Friday, May 17: Watt’s Wanderings, free walking tour from Soho House, Birmingham
- Friday, May 17: Illuminating James Watt, Soho House, Birmingham
- Saturday, May 18: The Men, Women and Children of Soho, The Library of Birmingham
- Saturday, May 18: Watt Make and Take, Handsworth Library, Birmingham
- Tuesday, May 21: Conservation Studio Tour, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery
- Tuesday, May 21: The story of Dr John Roebuck and James Watt, talk at Larbert Library
- Saturday, May 25: Crofton Beam Engines: James Watt Celebration, Crofton Pumping Station, Wiltshire
- Monday, May 27: Soho Steam Fair, Soho House Museum, Birmingham
- Tuesday, May 28-Friday, May 31: Watt’s Going On – Young People’s Holiday Programme, Soho House, Birmingham
- Tuesday, May 28: Kaleidoscope Colours, Birmingham Cathedral. Family-friendly art event.
- Wednesday, May 29: Smethwick Engine Steaming Day, Thinktank, Birmingham
- Thursday, May 30: Walking in the Footsteps of Watt – Geology of the Lickey Hills,
- Friday, May 31: Watt A Celebration, Trades Hall, Glasgow
JUNE 2019
- “Northern Lights” exhibition – featuring Watt – at National Library of Scotland. Details TBC.
- Saturday, June 1: “The Power to change the world: James Watt (1736-1819) A Life in 50 Objects”, free talk and book signing, Beacon Arts Centre, Greenock
- Sunday, June 2: What’s Watt, talk at Aston Hall, Birmingham
- Sunday, June 2: James Watt Tours, Soho House, Birmingham
- Wednesday, June 5: Visit Ecton Mine and Engine House, Peak District
- Wednesday, June 5: James Watt Symposium, Kelvin Gallery, University of Glasgow
- Wednesday, June 5: Royal Academy of Engineering and Royal Society of Edinburgh Annual James Watt Public Lecture, Sir Charles Wilson Lecture Theatre, University of Glasgow
- Thursday, June 6: James Watt and His Legacy – free public exhibition at University of Glasgow Library (Read more about one of the exhibits here.)
- Thursday, June 6: Who, Why, Where, When – Find Watt in Handsworth, walking tour from Soho House, Birmingham
- Thursday, June 6: James Watt Bicentenary Celebration Dinner, Bute Hall and the Hunterian Museum, University of Glasgow
- Thursday, June 6 to Sunday, June 16: Glasgow Science Festival: Glasgow Steams Ahead (various events). Specific James Watt events listed here.
- Saturday, June 8: Selling Steam: Watt’s Steam Engine in Popular Print Culture, talk at Library of Birmingham
- Thursday, June 13: Undergraduate Open Day, University of Glasgow
- Friday, June 14: St Paul’s Flower Festival – A celebration of James Watt, St. Paul’s Church, Birmingham
- Saturday, June 15: Remembering James Watt – Death and Memorials in Georgian Birmingham, talk at Coffin Works, Birmingham
- Saturday, June 15: From The Age of Steam – A Musical Tribute To James Watt, St Paul’s Church, Birmingham
- Thursday, June 20: A Visit To Watt’s Workshop at the Science Museum, London
- Tuesday, June 25: The Lunar Society and the European Enlightenment, talk at Birmingham City University
- Thursday, June 27 (until July 8): Bobby Bird in Residence, musician behind the “Watt’s Orbit” composition, at Vivid Projects, Birmingham
- Saturday, June 29: The Family of James Watt, Library of Birmingham
JULY 2019
- Until July 8: Watt’s Orbit – Artist in Residence, Vivid Projects, Birmingham
- Saturday, July 6: Visit to Ecton Mine and Engine House, Peak District
- Saturday, July 6: City Centre Lunar Walking Tour, from Birmingham Cathedral
- Saturday, July 6: James Watt Family Lego Sessions, Thinktank Museum, Birmingham
- Wednesday, July 10 until Sunday, September 8 – Display of the painting “James Watt and the Steam Engine: the Dawn of the Nineteenth Century” by James Eckford Lauder at the Scottish National Gallery on the Mound, Edinburgh.
- Friday, July 12 – November 2, 2019: The Life and Legacy of James Watt 1736-1819, Exhibition at the Library of Birmingham.
- Saturday, July 13: Visit to Smethwick Engine Excavation Site, Smethwick
- Tuesday, July 16: James Watt Junior and Aston Hall, Talk, College Hall, Lichfield.
- Saturday, July 20: A History of Harper’s Hill, talk at the Library of Birmingham
- Tuesday, July 23: Watt The World Needs Now, outdoor event for children at Nettlefold Garden, Birmingham
- Wednesday, July 24: Smethwick Engine Steaming Day, Thinktank Museum, Birmingham
- Wednesday, July 31: Crazy Science and Garden Picnic, Soho House, Birmingham
- Wednesday, July 31: James Watt Lectures, Etruria Industrial Museum, Stoke-on-Trent
AUGUST 2019
- Saturday, August 3: Visit Ecton Mine and Engine House, Peak District
- Saturday, August 3: City Centre Lunar Walking Tour, Birmingham
- August 3 and 4: Steaming Weekend, Etruria Industrial Museum, Stoke-on-Trent
- Wednesday, August 7: Imagination Playground, Soho House, Birmingham
- Saturday, August 10: Watt’s Rotative Steam Engines, Library of Birmingham
- Saturday, August 10: Visit to Smethwick Engine Excavation Site, Smethwick
- Thursday, August 15: The Six James Watts, College Hall, Lichfield
- Saturday, August 17: Exhibition on Watt at Bo’ness Library, Bo’ness (runs until end of September)
- Friday, August 23: Kinneil House Open Day, Bo’ness (Kinneil features Watt workshop)
- Friday, August 23 – “Where Art Tells Tales”, Exhibition/Musical Recital, at Beacon Arts Centre, Greenock.
- Friday, August 23 – Watt film show at Bo’ness Library, Bo’ness. Free.
- Saturday, August 24 – Monday, August 26: James Watt Weekend, Thinktank Museum, Birmingham
- Sunday, August 25: The 200th anniversary of Watt’s death.
- Sunday, August 25: Kinneil House Open Day, Bo’ness (Kinneil features Watt workshop), including “Watt A Day!” – special afternoon activities
- Sunday, August 25: Go Industrial Day 2019. Events to celebrate Watt at museum sites across Scotland.
- Sunday, August 25: Award presentation at Verdant Works, Dundee
- Sunday, August 25: James Watt Bicentenary Walk, Glasgow Green
- Sunday, August 25: Choral Evensong to celebrate James Watt, St Mary’s Parish Church, Handsworth, Birmingham
- Sunday, August 25: Celebratory event at Waterworks Museum, Hereford
- Sunday, August 25/Monday, August 26: Celebratory event at Papplewick Pumping Station, Ravenshead, Nottingham
- Sunday, August 25/Monday, August 26: Event at Waterworks Museum in Hereford
- Tuesday, August 27: Free talk on James Watt at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh.
- Thursday, August 29: Lunar Inventions, Library of Birmingham
- Friday, August 30 (until Sept 1): Rethinking James Watt (1736-1819) – Innovation, Culture and Legacy, Conference at the University of Birmingham. Details TBC.
- Saturday, August 31 (and September 1): Doors Opens Days in Inverclyde – Watt themed.
SEPTEMBER 2019
- Sunday, September 1: Doors Open Days in Inverclyde – with Watt theme.
- Sunday, September 1: James Watt Tour and Trail
- Sunday, September 1: Kinneil House Open Day, Bo’ness (Kinneil features Watt workshop). This opening is only for ticket holders attending the Bo’ness Hillclimb event.
- Tuesday, September 3: Public Evening Lecture: James Watt and Precision Engineering, SEC Armadillo, Glasgow
- Saturday, September 7: The Family of James Watt, Talk at Library of Birmingham
- Wednesday, September 11: Visit Ecton Mine and Engine House, Peak District
- Saturday, September 14: Kinneil House Open Day, Bo’ness (Kinneil features Watt workshop)
- Saturday, September 14: Visit to Smethwick Excavation Site, Smethwick
- Saturday, September 14: Mechanical Wonders – The Lap Engine, talk at Library of Birmingham
- Saturday, September 14: Preserving The Dust – James Watt and Industrial Iconography, talk at the Library of Birmingham
- Sunday, September 15: Watt Make And Take, Family event at Soho House, Birmingham
- Sunday, September 15: Mechanical Wonders – The Lap Engine, Talk at the Library of Birmingham
- Friday, September 20/Saturday, September 21: Bo’ness Real Ale Festival (with Watt theme), Bo’ness Town Hall
- Saturday, September 21: Kinneil House Open Day, Bo’ness (Kinneil features Watt workshop)
- Saturday, September 21: Visit to Smethwick Excavation Site, Smethwick
- Saturday, September 21: St. Mary’s Church – Cathedral of the Industrial Revolution. Tour of the Church in Handsworth, Birmingham
- Saturday, September 21: Watt’s Orbit Concert, St. Paul’s Church, Birmingham
- Monday, September 23: James Watt talk, Royal Scots Club, Edinburgh
- Thursday, September 26: The story of Dr John Roebuck (Carron Iron Co) and James Watt at Kinneil House, Bo’ness: Celebrating the 250th anniversary in 2019 of their patent for James Watt’s steam engine” – Talk at St Catharine’s Church, Bo’ness.
OCTOBER 2019
- Friday, October 4: James Watt Dinner, Raddison Blu Hotel, Glasgow.
- Saturday, October 5: Kinneil House Open Day, Bo’ness (Kinneil features Watt workshop)
- Sunday, October 6: Boulton, Watt and The Wyatts, Talk at Soho House, Birmingham
- Friday, October 11: A Visit to the Assay Office Silver Collection, Birmingham
- Saturday, October 12: Visit to Smethwick Excavation Site, Smethwick
- Sunday, October 12: Soho on a Lunar Night, event at Soho House, Birmingham
- Thursday, October 17: Wanderings and Windings Walk, Falkirk/Carron
- Saturday, October 19: St. Mary’s Church – Cathedral of the Industrial Revolution. Tour of the Church in Handsworth, Birmingham
- Sunday, October 20: Wanderings and Windings Walk, Bo’ness to Linlithgow (via Kinneil)
- Sunday, October 20: The Geology of the Lickey Hills, Walking in the Footsteps of James Watt and Sons, Walk, Birmingham
- Wednesday, October 23: Smeaton and Watt: Unleashing The Power That Changed The World, Free talk, Edinburgh
- Friday, October 25 to November 1, Galoshans (Halloween) Festival in Greenock – including celebrations of James Watt.
- Saturday, October 26: 3D Workshop, Family event at Library of Birmingham
- Saturday, October 26: Kinneil House Open Day, Bo’ness (Kinneil features Watt workshop)
- Tuesday, October 29: Watt Can We Copy? Family event at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery
- Wednesday, October 30: Smethwick Engine Steaming Day, Thinktank Museum, Birmingham
NOVEMBER 2019
- Saturday, November 2: Knowledge and Invention – free tours at Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh.
- Saturday, November 2: Inverclyde Fireworks 2019, Battery Park, Greenock – celebrating science and James Watt.
- Wednesday, November 6: Talk: “The Mystery Of The ‘James Watt Organ’ And Other Watt Stories More Musical Than Steamy”, ThinkTank, Birmingham.
- Wednesday, November 20: (Details TBC) Going Green – The Drive for Energy Efficiency, Watt-related display, Riverside Museum in Glasgow
- Thursday, November 21: The Story of James Watt & Dr John Roebuck, Talk at The Old Kirk, Kirkcaldy.
- Friday, November 22: Re-opening of the Watt Institution in Greenock.
- Saturday, November 23: James Watt Bicentenary Tree Planting, at Handsworth Park, Handsworth, Birmingham
- Saturday, November 30: Kinneil House Open Day, Bo’ness (Kinneil features Watt workshop)
DECEMBER 2019
- Sunday, December 1: Kinneil House Open Day, Bo’ness (Kinneil features Watt workshop)
- Tuesday, December 3: Second in the 2019 Boulton and Watt Series of Lectures, free event at University of Birmingham
- Thursday, December 12: The Story of Dr John Roebuck (Carron Iron Co) and James Watt at Kinneil House. Talk for National Trust for Scotland’s Stirling Members’ Centre, St Ninian’s Church Hall, Stirling, 2.30 p.m. (If you live within reach of Stirling, and are an NTS member, you are welcome to join the Centre and enjoy the group’s programme. More here.)
2020
JANUARY
James Watt 
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