Storiascopio · Era 10 of 12 · lower secondary year 2
Newcomen's steam engine
1712 · Dudley, England
In short
In English coal mines, water kept flooding the tunnels. Thomas Newcomen, a craftsman who sold iron tools, built a machine that used steam to move a great rocking beam connected to a pump. The first one worked in 1712 near Dudley, in England, and lifted water from dozens of metres down. It burnt a huge amount of coal, but in the mines there was no shortage of coal.
Why it matters It was the first truly useful steam engine, the first step towards the Industrial Revolution.
Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Thomas Newcomen”
Where we are in the era “Age of revolutions”
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1712Event 1 of 251895
Your turn
Name ______________________ Class ______ Date __________
When did it happen? Find the date at the top and write it here:
Tell it in your own words: what happened?
Draw the scene below.
storiascopio.com/en/event/newcomen-s-steam-engine/ · free worksheet, you may photocopy it for your class