William Murdoch (1754-1839) was a pioneer of gas lighting. His home, a cottage in Boulton and Watt's Soho Foundry, was the first domestic residence in the world to be so lit.
He was born near Cumnock, Ayrshire in Scotland. In 1877, he walked to Birmingham, a distance of over 300 miles, in order to ask for a job with James Watt, the famous steam engine manufacturers. Matthew Boulton, impressed by Murdoch's wooden hat, made on a lathe of his own design, gave him a job and within a short term he was well respected within the firm.
By now some of you have probably read the above paragraph twice
and are asking .."ok, why the history lesson" , well let me answer
your question with a question...Why was the hat important?