Who, an ironmonger by trade, created the first practical steam engine to pump water from mineshafts?
Thomas Newcomen Thomas Newcomen Thomas Newcomen (; February 1664 – 5 August 1729) was an English inventor who created the first practical steam engine in 1712, the Newcomen atmospheric engine. He was an ironmonger by trade and a Baptist lay preacher by calling. He was born in Dartmouth, Devon, England, to a merchant family and baptised at St. Saviour's Church on 28 February 1664. In those days flooding in coal and tin mines was a major problem, and Newcomen was soon engaged in trying to improve ways to pump out the water from such mines. His ironmonger's business specialised in designing, manufacturing
Water-returning engine lack of finance, it was not until 1836 that Alfred was able to build a steam hammer, independent of this water supply. These restrictions led to the very earliest form of steam engine used for power generation rather than pumping, the water-returning engine. With this engine, a steam pump was used to raise water that in turn drove a water wheel and thus the machinery. Water from the wheel was then returned by the pump. These early steam engines were only suitable for pumping water, and could not be connected directly to the machinery. The first practical examples of these