<P> In 1781 Scottish engineer James Watt patented a steam engine that produced continuous rotary motion . Watt 's ten - horsepower engines enabled a wide range of manufacturing machinery to be powered . The engines could be sited anywhere that water and coal or wood fuel could be obtained . By 1883 , engines that could provide 10,000 hp had become feasible . The stationary steam engine was a key component of the Industrial Revolution , allowing factories to locate where water power was unavailable . The atmospheric engines of Newcomen and Watt were large compared to the amount of power they produced , but high - pressure steam engines were light enough to be applied to vehicles such as traction engines and the railway locomotives . </P>
<P> In 1781 Scottish engineer James Watt patented a steam engine that produced continuous rotary motion . Watt 's ten - horsepower engines enabled a wide range of manufacturing machinery to be powered . The engines could be sited anywhere that water and coal or wood fuel could be obtained . By 1883 , engines that could provide 10,000 hp had become feasible . The stationary steam engine was a key component of the Industrial Revolution , allowing factories to locate where water power was unavailable . The atmospheric engines of Newcomen and Watt were large compared to the amount of power they produced , but high - pressure steam engines were light enough to be applied to vehicles such as traction engines and the railway locomotives . </P>
who developed a steam engine that could drive machinery
who developed a steam engine that could drive machinery
James Watt
James Watt