360Thomas Savery patents a steam pump to drain mines
On 2 July 1698, the English engineer Thomas Savery received a patent for a machine that used steam to pump water out of mines, which he called 'the Miner's Friend'. It was one of the first practical uses of steam power. Improved by Thomas Newcomen and later James Watt, steam engines went on to power the Industrial Revolution.
By the late 1600s, Britain's mines were going deeper, and flooding was a constant problem. Pumping by hand or with horses was slow and costly.
Thomas Savery, a military engineer from Devon, designed a pump with no pistons. Steam filled a vessel, then cold water cooled it, creating a vacuum that sucked water up a pipe. More steam then pushed the water higher.
He received a patent on 2 July 1698 and demonstrated his engine to the Royal Society in 1699. It worked best for lifting water short distances and was used to supply water to houses and gardens.
Its limits inspired better designs. In 1712 Thomas Newcomen built a piston engine that could drain deep mines, and from 1769 James Watt made steam engines far more efficient, leading to factories, railways and steamships.
- 2 July 1698
- Savery's patent
- 1699
- Demonstration to the Royal Society
- 1712
- Newcomen's piston engine
- 1769
- Watt's separate condenser
Sources: Science Museum Group · Britannica.