author
Thomas Savery
d. 1715
An early pioneer of steam power, this English inventor is best remembered for designing one of the first commercially used steam pumps. His work to remove water from mines helped lay important groundwork for the age of industrial engineering.
1 Audiobook
The Miner's Friend; Or, An Engine to Raise Water by Fire
by Thomas Savery
About the author
Born around 1650 in Devon, Thomas Savery was an English inventor and military engineer. He is best known for a steam-powered pumping device patented in 1698, created to raise water from flooded mines. The machine became widely known as the Savery engine and is often treated as one of the first practical uses of steam power in industry.
Savery also worked on other mechanical ideas and promoted his inventions energetically. Although his pump had real limits in depth and safety, it marked an important step toward later steam-engine developments by inventors such as Thomas Newcomen.
He died on 15 May 1715. Even though he is less famous than some later engineers, his experiments with steam helped open the door to one of the biggest technological changes in modern history.