Thomas savery's steam pump

Primary Sources

(1) Christopher F. Lindsey, Thomas Savery : Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (2004-2014)

Thomas Savery... became a military engineer, and by 1696 had attained the rank of trench-master. He spent his spare time on mechanical experiments, and in 1696 he patented (no. 347) a machine to grind and polish plate glass, and a contrivance for rowing ships in a calm using two paddle-wheels worked by a capstan. William III thought highly of the second invention, but although Savery demonstrated its practicability by fitting it to a small yacht, official jealousy prevented its adoption in the navy. Undeterred, he published an account of his invention in a work entitled Navigation Improved (1698), and this contained a denunciation of his treatment in official circles.

Savery, who lived at Exeter for a time and whose youth was spent near a mining district, had often turned his attention to the difficulty of keeping the mines free from water. Thomas newcomen!