James Hall Nasmyth (sometimes spelled
Naesmyth,
Nasmith, or
Nesmyth) (19 August 1808 – 7 May 1890) was a Scottish engineer and inventor famous for his development of the
steam hammer. He was the co-founder of
Nasmyth, Gaskell and Company manufacturers of
machine tools. He retired at the age of 48, and moved to
Penshurst, Kent where he developed his hobbies of
astronomy and photography.