A Skilled English Tradesman and the Early International Diffusion of Steamboat and Railway Technology: The life and career of William Harman (1804–1890), a study of individual adaptability and mobility

Mobile British artisans played a key role in the global diffusion of industrialization, taking their skills to Continental Europe and the USA. While research in recent decades among those who might be classed as minor innovators or tweakers has increased our knowledge and understanding of their contribution to this process, less is known about those skilled tradespeople who might be classed as implementers, in other words, those who proved capable of constructing, installing and operating new industrial plant and machinery but are not noted for their innovations. This article is the study of the life and context of William Harman, a highly mobile individual involved in the construction of steamships and locomotives and whose career took him from his home near Hull to France and across the United States as the frontier moved westwards.