5 Things to Know About Thomas Newcomen

Thomas Newcomen (1663 - 1729) introduced to the world his invention at work in 1712 in Dudley Castle. His invention inspired others to develop it further allowing man to muster power bigger industries dawning the industrial revolution. But who was this fellow? Here are 5 things to know about Thomas Newcomen:

Newcomen House

The Enigmatic Thomas Newcomen

The Baptist preacher and iron monger Thomas Newcomen and his partner John Calley held their breath as they watched and waited for the beam of their new strange device to swing up and down. Newcomen betted 10 years of their lives, hardwork and experimentation on this device. Its result dictated not only if this bet paid off but also the fate of England’s mining industry and even beyond.

10 Things to Know about Nicolas Appert and his Innovation in Food Preservation

Nicolas Appert made a leap in food preservation that it changed the diet of entire mankind within the 19th century turning food into an industry. Here are 10 things to know about Nicolas Appert, his time, and his innovation.

The Tragedy of Nicolas Appert

Innovating does not always ensure success or prosperity. Some ended up in dire financial stress for the rest of their lives. Just as the case for the father of modern food industry and thinker behind canning or rather bottling, Nicolas Appert.

From War to Tables: The Times and Innovation of Nicolas Appert

Nuclear energy and GPS all began with military use before creating a massive impact for its civilian use. Joining these example: the canned and packed foods bought from the groceries or markets. 

Industrialized Canning, 1917

Yes, apparently like nuclear energy, our packed goodies traced its development from war. A war that raged during the turn of the 18th and 19th century. The time when Europe plunged into the chaos of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars.

From Textile to AI - Who is Joseph-Marie Jacquard?

AI, binary codes, metaverse - complex jargons that would be dumbfounded if Joseph-Marie Charles aka Joseph Jacquard rose up from his grave and discovered the result of his machine - the Jacquard Loom. 

A failed businessman and a jack of many trades, how did Joseph Jacquard build a machine considered as one of the ancestors of our modern computer?

Eli Whitney: The Cotton Gin and Interchangeable Parts

Eli Whitney

He is better known as one of the greatest inventors of the United States of America. His invention change the economy of an entire nation. He brought the rise of cotton industry as an engine of economic growth in the Southern States. He began to practice a concept which was ahead of his time. The idea which would change the manufacturing sector of the United States and the world. He is best remembered as an inventor rather than a tycoon. He was Eli Whitney, the man who invented the cotton gin and thought of the idea of interchangeable parts.