INVENTOR
William Murdoch
1754 - 1839

William Murdoch
William Murdoch (sometimes spelled Murdock) (21 August 1754 – 15 November 1839) was a Scottish chemist, inventor, and mechanical engineer. Murdoch was employed by the firm of Boulton & Watt and worked for them in Cornwall, as a steam engine erector for ten years, spending most of the rest of his life in Birmingham, England. Murdoch was the inventor of the oscillating cylinder steam engine, and gas lighting is attributed to him in the early 1790s, as well as the term "gasometer". However the Dutch-Belgian Academic Jean-Pierre Minckelers had already published on coal gasification and gas lighting in 1784, and had used gas to light his auditorium at the University of Leuven from 1785. Read more on Wikipedia
His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. William Murdoch is the 184th most popular inventor (down from 160th in 2019), the 1,858th most popular biography from United Kingdom (down from 1,414th in 2019) and the 29th most popular British Inventor.
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Among INVENTORS
Among inventors, William Murdoch ranks 184 out of 426. Before him are Émile Baudot, Artur Fischer, Harold Eugene Edgerton, Matthew Boulton, Lagâri Hasan Çelebi, and Gunther von Hagens. After him are Johann Nicolaus von Dreyse, Fausto Veranzio, Heinrich Daniel Ruhmkorff, Johann Jacob Schweppe, Arnold Orville Beckman, and Lucien Olivier.
Most Popular Inventors in Wikipedia
Go to all RankingsÉmile Baudot
1845 - 1903
HPI: 63.18
Rank: 178
Artur Fischer
1919 - 2016
HPI: 63.16
Rank: 179
Harold Eugene Edgerton
1903 - 1990
HPI: 63.16
Rank: 180
Matthew Boulton
1728 - 1809
HPI: 63.06
Rank: 181
Lagâri Hasan Çelebi
1600 - 1700
HPI: 62.94
Rank: 182
Gunther von Hagens
1945 - Present
HPI: 62.91
Rank: 183
William Murdoch
1754 - 1839
HPI: 62.81
Rank: 184
Johann Nicolaus von Dreyse
1787 - 1867
HPI: 62.79
Rank: 185
Fausto Veranzio
1551 - 1617
HPI: 62.76
Rank: 186
Heinrich Daniel Ruhmkorff
1803 - 1877
HPI: 62.73
Rank: 187
Johann Jacob Schweppe
1740 - 1821
HPI: 62.72
Rank: 188
Arnold Orville Beckman
1900 - 2004
HPI: 62.71
Rank: 189
Lucien Olivier
1838 - 1883
HPI: 62.68
Rank: 190
Contemporaries
Among people born in 1754, William Murdoch ranks 30. Before him are Jean-Antoine Marbot, Pavel Tsitsianov, Vicente Martín y Soler, Andrea Appiani, Joseph Joubert, and Wilhelm, Duke of Oldenburg. After him are Alejandro Malaspina, Louis Claude Richard, Karl Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, Claude François de Malet, Nikolay Rumyantsev, and Pierre Charles L'Enfant. Among people deceased in 1839, William Murdoch ranks 16. Before him are William Smith, Joseph Fesch, Pehr Henrik Ling, Ferdinando Paer, Aloysia Weber, and Hugues-Bernard Maret, duc de Bassano. After him are Mikhail Speransky, Milan Obrenović II, Prince of Serbia, Adolphe Nourrit, Joseph Anton Koch, Andrew Dũng-Lạc, and Lord William Bentinck.
Others Born in 1754
Go to all RankingsJean-Antoine Marbot
POLITICIAN
1754 - 1800
HPI: 64.27
Rank: 24
Pavel Tsitsianov
POLITICIAN
1754 - 1806
HPI: 64.25
Rank: 25
Vicente Martín y Soler
COMPOSER
1754 - 1806
HPI: 64.06
Rank: 26
Andrea Appiani
PAINTER
1754 - 1817
HPI: 63.88
Rank: 27
Joseph Joubert
WRITER
1754 - 1824
HPI: 63.77
Rank: 28
Wilhelm, Duke of Oldenburg
NOBLEMAN
1754 - 1823
HPI: 62.83
Rank: 29
William Murdoch
INVENTOR
1754 - 1839
HPI: 62.81
Rank: 30
Alejandro Malaspina
EXPLORER
1754 - 1810
HPI: 62.23
Rank: 31
Louis Claude Richard
BIOLOGIST
1754 - 1821
HPI: 62.22
Rank: 32
Karl Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen
NOBLEMAN
1754 - 1782
HPI: 60.61
Rank: 33
Claude François de Malet
MILITARY PERSONNEL
1754 - 1812
HPI: 60.58
Rank: 34
Nikolay Rumyantsev
POLITICIAN
1754 - 1826
HPI: 60.18
Rank: 35
Pierre Charles L'Enfant
ENGINEER
1754 - 1825
HPI: 60.14
Rank: 36
Others Deceased in 1839
Go to all RankingsWilliam Smith
GEOLOGIST
1769 - 1839
HPI: 65.26
Rank: 10
Joseph Fesch
NOBLEMAN
1763 - 1839
HPI: 64.94
Rank: 11
Pehr Henrik Ling
WRITER
1776 - 1839
HPI: 64.63
Rank: 12
Ferdinando Paer
COMPOSER
1771 - 1839
HPI: 63.89
Rank: 13
Aloysia Weber
COMPOSER
1760 - 1839
HPI: 62.99
Rank: 14
Hugues-Bernard Maret, duc de Bassano
POLITICIAN
1763 - 1839
HPI: 62.82
Rank: 15
William Murdoch
INVENTOR
1754 - 1839
HPI: 62.81
Rank: 16
Mikhail Speransky
POLITICIAN
1772 - 1839
HPI: 62.41
Rank: 17
Milan Obrenović II, Prince of Serbia
POLITICIAN
1819 - 1839
HPI: 61.96
Rank: 18
Adolphe Nourrit
SINGER
1802 - 1839
HPI: 61.87
Rank: 19
Joseph Anton Koch
PAINTER
1768 - 1839
HPI: 61.83
Rank: 20
Andrew Dũng-Lạc
RELIGIOUS FIGURE
1795 - 1839
HPI: 61.25
Rank: 21
Lord William Bentinck
POLITICIAN
1774 - 1839
HPI: 61.21
Rank: 22
In United Kingdom
Among people born in United Kingdom, William Murdoch ranks 1,858 out of 8,785. Before him are Ida Lupino (1918), Alice Keppel (1868), Arthur Young (1741), Alvin Lee (1944), Peter Collins (1931), and David Jacobs (1888). After him are Princess Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1884), Richard Aldington (1892), John Guillermin (1925), Pasquale Anfossi (1727), John Ball (1338), and Elvis Costello (1954).
Others born in United Kingdom
Go to all RankingsIda Lupino
ACTOR
1918 - 1995
HPI: 62.86
Rank: 1,852
Alice Keppel
CELEBRITY
1868 - 1947
HPI: 62.85
Rank: 1,853
Arthur Young
WRITER
1741 - 1820
HPI: 62.85
Rank: 1,854
Alvin Lee
MUSICIAN
1944 - 2013
HPI: 62.84
Rank: 1,855
Peter Collins
RACING DRIVER
1931 - 1958
HPI: 62.84
Rank: 1,856
David Jacobs
ATHLETE
1888 - 1976
HPI: 62.82
Rank: 1,857
William Murdoch
INVENTOR
1754 - 1839
HPI: 62.81
Rank: 1,858
Princess Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
POLITICIAN
1884 - 1966
HPI: 62.80
Rank: 1,859
Richard Aldington
WRITER
1892 - 1962
HPI: 62.80
Rank: 1,860
John Guillermin
FILM DIRECTOR
1925 - 2015
HPI: 62.80
Rank: 1,861
Pasquale Anfossi
COMPOSER
1727 - 1797
HPI: 62.80
Rank: 1,862
John Ball
RELIGIOUS FIGURE
1338 - 1381
HPI: 62.79
Rank: 1,863
Elvis Costello
MUSICIAN
1954 - Present
HPI: 62.79
Rank: 1,864
Among INVENTORS In United Kingdom
Among inventors born in United Kingdom, William Murdoch ranks 29. Before him are Robert Stirling (1790), Oliver Lodge (1851), Robert Watson-Watt (1892), Charles Algernon Parsons (1854), Sandford Fleming (1827), and Matthew Boulton (1728). After him are James Dyson (1947), David Edward Hughes (1831), Jethro Tull (1674), Elihu Thomson (1853), Hubert Cecil Booth (1871), and Robert Whitehead (1823).
Robert Stirling
1790 - 1878
HPI: 64.85
Rank: 23
Oliver Lodge
1851 - 1940
HPI: 63.80
Rank: 24
Robert Watson-Watt
1892 - 1973
HPI: 63.60
Rank: 25
Charles Algernon Parsons
1854 - 1931
HPI: 63.51
Rank: 26
Sandford Fleming
1827 - 1915
HPI: 63.33
Rank: 27
Matthew Boulton
1728 - 1809
HPI: 63.06
Rank: 28
William Murdoch
1754 - 1839
HPI: 62.81
Rank: 29
James Dyson
1947 - Present
HPI: 61.68
Rank: 30
David Edward Hughes
1831 - 1900
HPI: 61.28
Rank: 31
Jethro Tull
1674 - 1741
HPI: 61.21
Rank: 32
Elihu Thomson
1853 - 1937
HPI: 61.03
Rank: 33
Hubert Cecil Booth
1871 - 1955
HPI: 60.94
Rank: 34
Robert Whitehead
1823 - 1905
HPI: 60.17
Rank: 35