Watt was much honored in his own time
Starting the topic interesting facts about James Watt, you may not know Watt was much honored in his own time.
Watt was highly regarded during his lifetime. In 1784, he was elected to the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and in 1787, he was elected to the Batavian Society for Experimental Philosophy in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. In 1789, he was elected to the Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers, an elite group. The University of Glasgow bestowed the honorary Doctor of Laws degree on him in 1806. In 1814, the French Academy made him a Corresponding Member and a Foreign Associate.
The Bank of England announced on May 29, 2009, that Boulton and Watt would appear on a new £50 note. The design, which features the two industrialists side by side with images of Watt's steam engine and Boulton's Soho Manufactory, is the first to feature a dual portrait on a Bank of England note. On the note are quotes attributed to each of the men: "I sell here, sir, what all the world desires—POWER" (Boulton) and "I can think of nothing else but this machine" (Boulton) (Watt). Watt is the second Scot to appear on a Bank of England note (the first was Adam Smith on the £20 note issued in 2007). It was announced in September 2011 that the notes would go into circulation on November 2nd.
He was one of seven inaugural inductees into the Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame in 2011.
