Charles Algernon Parsons was born into a wealthy and talented family. His father, the third Earl of Rosse, was president of the Royal Society and a distinguished astronomer, and his mother was a pioneer photographer. Privately tutored, Parsons spent much of his time as a child in his father's workshop, listening to the many scientists who frequented his parents' home, Birr Castle, Ireland. At the age of twelve, he constructed, with the aid of his brothers, a steam carriage that could travel at speeds of up to ten miles an hour (16 kph).

After enrolling at Trinity College, Dublin, Parsons transferred to Cambridge, where he earned a degree in mathematics. In 1884 he went to work for Clarke, Chapman, and Company, manufacturers who specialized in building electric dynamos. Like all dynamos of the time, these machines were driven by a belt connected to the flywheel of a steam engine. Realizing...