Thomas Newcomen

Thomas Newcomen (baptized February 24, 1664 – August 5,1729), blacksmith and inventor was born in Dartmouth, Devon, England. Thomas Newcomen is frequently referred to as the Father of the industrial revolution as its first innovator and entrepreneur.

Related Topics:
February 24 - 1664 - August 5 - 1729 - Dartmouth - Devon - England - Father of the industrial revolution - Entrepreneur

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In 1712 Newcomen, with his business partner Thomas Savery, built an atmospheric steam engine for pumping water out of mines, from coal mines to the tin mines of Newcomen's native south-west England, particularly in Cornwall.

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1712 - Thomas Savery - Steam engine - Pumping - Mines - Coal - Tin - Cornwall

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The Newcomen engine was first used near at the Conygree coalworks near Dudley in the West Midlands in 1712. A working replica has been constructed at the Black Country Living Museum there.

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Newcomen engine - Dudley - West Midlands - Black Country Living Museum

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The engine used steam as a way of producing a vacuum rather than steam under pressure. The vacuum created within the open topped cylinder caused atmospheric pressure to force the piston downwards, thus the name atmospheric engine is normally used.

Related Topics:
Steam - Vacuum - Pressure - Atmospheric engine

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Further engines were installed by Newcomen himself in mines in the Midlands, north Wales and Cumbria, with over 100 built before the patent expired in 1733. The design was later improved by James Watt.

Related Topics:
Wales - Cumbria - Patent - 1733 - James Watt

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Possibly the last atmospheric engine to be used commercially, and the last to remain on its original site is at Elsecar, near Barnsley.

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Elsecar - Barnsley

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In London in 1920, a learned society to promote and encourage the study of the history of engineering and technology was formed, called the Newcomen Society, after Thomas Newcomen. An American branch was established in 1923, and there are branches in Birmingham and Manchester, but the Newcomen Society of the United States is now entirely separate from its UK counterpart.

Related Topics:
London - 1920 - Learned society - Engineering - Newcomen Society - 1923 - Birmingham - Manchester - Newcomen Society of the United States

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