Matthew Boulton, the son of a silver-stamper, was born in Birmingham in 1728. After the death of his father, Boulton purchased a piece of barren heath at nearby Soho, and opened a much larger coin-making works.

In 1773, Boulton went into partnership with the inventor, James Watt. For the next eleven years Boulton's factory producing and selling Watt's steam-engines. These machines were mainly sold to colliery owners who used them to pump water from their mines. Boulton & Watt's machine was very popular because it was four times more powerful than those that had been based on the Thomas Newcomen design.

James Watt continued to experiment and in 1781 he produced a rotary-motion steam engine. Whereas his earlier machine, with its up-and-down pumping action, was ideal for draining mines, this new steam engine could be used to drive many different types of machinery. Richard Arkwright was quick to see the importance of this new invention, and in 1783 he began using steam-engines in his textile factories. Others followed his lead and after fifteen years there were over 500 of Boulton & Watt's machines in Britain's mines and factories.

In 1786 Boulton applied steam power to coining machines. So successful was the process that as well as his supplying the home market, he produced coins for foreign governments as well. Matthew Boulton died in 1809.

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