Today in Technology History
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February 28
The steam engine was invented by James Watt, right? Wrong. The truth is much more complicated than generally believed.
About 2,000 years ago, Hero of Alexandria, one of the last great scientific minds of ancient Greece, realized that steam could power machinery. He built the first simple steam engine, although it was of no practical use.
About 500 years ago, Leonardo da Vinci imagined steam-powered machines. As with most of Leonardo's speculations, nothing came of it.
The first useful steam engine was built by an Englishman named Thomas Savery (1650?-1715). His steam engine, patented in 1698, was inefficient, dangerous and expensive -- but it worked. Since its only use was in slowly pumping water out of a few English coal mines, it was known as the "Miner's Friend."
Then along came another Englishman named Thomas Newcomen. The date of his birth is unknown, but he was baptized on February 28, 1663. He is variously described as a blacksmith, an ironmonger, or a plumber -- but he is remembered for his work on the steam engine.
Newcomen designed an entirely original steam engine that was safer and more efficient than Savery's, but Savery's patent was so broad that Newcomen's invention fell under its terms. Instead of giving up, Newcomen partnered with Savery, and in 1712 the first of Newcomen's steam engines was built.
Although Newcomen's engine was initially used to remove water from coal mines, it soon found several other applications. By the time Watt came onto the scene, Newcomen's engine had dominated Europe for half a century.
Newcomen died in 1729. An obituary described him as the "sole inventor of that surprising machine for raising water by fire."
Related links:
This page has an animated diagram of a Newcomen steam engine.
Click here to read more about Newcomen.
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