The steam engine may seem like a relic of the past. But without this game-changing invention, the modern world would be a much different place.

1664: Thomas Newcomen, creator of the first practical atmospheric steam engine, is born in Devon, England. Newcomen’s exact birth date is a matter of debate. Some sources say “before Feb. 24 ...

Thomas Newcomen was an English inventor and engineer, who created the atmospheric engine, the first practical steam engine in 1712. He was born in Dartmouth, Devon , and was baptised in February ...

The Newcomen Beam Engine, the oldest steam engine in the world still in its original location, is ready to welcome visitors again after a winter break. Picture Jonathan Gawthorpe.

Inventor Thomas Newcomen (1663-1729) designed the world's first successful atmospheric steam engine. His invention earned him a place as one of the pioneers of the Industrial Revolution.

A GREAT deal has been written on the steam-engine generally, but the author has not met with any connected record of the invention and construction of the first steam-engine—the atmospheric ...

The potential for the new technology was limitless. A cottage economy of tinkerers and engineers took to their barns. Pioneers like Thomas Newcomen and James Watt created ever-improving steam engines.

An atmospheric steam engine built for Caprington Colliery, Ayshire, in 1811 to a design developed by Thomas Newcomen a century earlier. This was less efficient than James Watt's steam engine, but ...

A diagram of Watt's 1776 steam engine. James Watt was born in Greenock in 1736. He worked making scientific instruments but, in the 1760s, he took an interest in steam engines .

Steam is among the most common phenomena on Earth—boil water, and it appears. Wrangling it into engines was among the most significant developments in human history, not to mention fashion. For ...

According to the Scottish Science Hall of Fame, his influence began while repairing a model Newcomen steam engine in 1764, at which point he couldn't help but notice how much steam it wasted in ...

In the early days of the steam engine, inventor and engineer James Watt made some significant improvements to the Newcomen steam engine, and attempted to market and sell his new version.