William Murdoch
From The Encyclopedia of Earth
Murdoch, William
August 18, 2006, 6:39 pm
William Murdoch (1754-1839), a Scottish engineer, inventor, and pioneer of gas lighting. Murdoch worked in James Watt’s factory as an engine erector. While managing a pumping engine installation, Murdoch observed that when he placed coal dust in the bowl of his pipe and then placed the pipe in the fire, a coal gas formed that shone brightly; Murdoch had discovered the properties of gas as an illuminant. In 1792, Murdoch produced this “coal gas,” or “manufactured gas” and conveyed it through metal pipes, lighting his cottage and offices in Redruth, Cornwall. With Murdoch's discovery, a revolution in lighting had begun that would fundamentally transform society.
