The History of Pumping Water

As early as 1606, scientists were designing steam engines to pump water. But it was Savry's predecessor at the Office of Ordnance who had correctly calculated the volume of steam and left behind his notes. Using those notes, Savry built a new machine with a tall cylinder filled with water and connected to a boiler. The vacuum would then pull water from a chamber below, creating a pumping action.Savry took out a patent in 1698 - only the 356th issued in Great Britain since patents began 74 years earlier.