Between 1752 and 1756, James Brindley devised a method of pumping water from the nearby Wet Earth Colliery using power harnessed from the River Irwell via a water wheel.
James Bond | James Joyce | James Brown | James Cook | James Stewart | James II of England | James Garner | James | James Cameron | James Taylor | James Madison | James May | Henry James | James Cagney | James II | James Caan | James Earl Jones | LeBron James | James Monroe | James Franco | James I | William James | James Wyatt | James, son of Zebedee | James Dean | James A. Garfield | Etta James | Jesse James | James Mason | Clive James |
He is famous as the originator of British inland navigation, the commissioner of the Bridgewater Canal—often said to be the first true canal in Britain and the modern world (see below for a qualification)—which was built for him by James Brindley to service his coal mines at Worsley, in Lancashire.