Newcomen's Atmospheric Engine
January 1, 1712
At Dudley Castle in Staffordshire, Thomas Newcomen's steam engine pumped water from a coal mine for the first time. Its giant rocking beam, fed by condensed steam, would soon rise over pits across Britain. Inefficient, colossal, indispensable, it was the first practical power source independent of wind, water, or muscle.
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Also in 1712 (4 other events on record)
- Jean-Jacques Rousseau Born in Geneva · Europe · Culture
- Slave Code Strengthened in Virginia · North America · Politics
- Kaempfer's Amoenitates Exoticae · East Asia · Culture
- New York Slave Revolt · North America · Politics
Before and after in Europe
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Era
Enlightenment (1651–1800), one of 696 events from that era on Saeculum.