author

Thomas Savery

d. 1715

Best known for one of the earliest practical steam-powered pumps, this English inventor helped push mining technology toward the steam age. His 1698 patent for a device to raise water made him an important early figure in the history of engineering.

1 Audiobook

The Miner's Friend; Or, An Engine to Raise Water by Fire

The Miner's Friend; Or, An Engine to Raise Water by Fire

by Thomas Savery

About the author

Born in Devon around 1650, Thomas Savery was an English military engineer and inventor. He is remembered above all for developing an early steam-powered pump designed to lift water, especially from mines, at a time when flooding was a major obstacle to deeper excavation.

In 1698 he patented his device for raising water by fire, and he promoted it widely as a useful machine for mines, estates, and waterworks. Although later steam engines would prove more effective, Savery's work marked an important step in the development of steam power and helped open the way for later inventors.

He died in 1715, but his name remains closely tied to the first commercially used steam-powered pumping device. For listeners interested in the beginnings of industrial technology, his story sits right at the threshold of the modern machine age.