Images

An 1869 etching showing the Scottish instrument worker James Watt (1736-1819) developing a new design of steam engine in the 1760s and 1770s during the Industrial Revolution.

An illustration showing the increasing industrialisation and urbanisation of Britain during the Industrial Revolution. (From Griffith's Guide to the Iron Trade of Great Britain, 1873)

Showman engines were steam-powered machines that could be used anywhere. Many were used to power rides at fairgrounds. This example comes from England.

An illustration by Charles Parsons showing the steam-powered SS Great Eastern. It was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806-1859) and completed in 1858. It was the largest ship in the world at 211 metres (692 ft) long. Great Eastern could...

The Rocket locomotive steam engine was designed in 1829 by Robert Stephenson (1803-1859) during the Industrial Revolution. The locomotive won the 1829 Rainhill Trials and so was used to pull passenger carriages on the world's first intercity...

A model of a rotary motion steam engine based on those built by James Watt (1736-1819) during the Industrial Revolution. Harnessing steam power in a wheel made the engines much more versatile than the older vertical piston engines.

Prehistoric stilt houses on the bank of the Lake Ledro, Italy.

Clay pot, Polada Culture, Abitato del Lavagnone, Bronze Age, 1800-1600 BCE. Giovanni Rambotti Civic Archaeological Museum, Desenzano del Garda, Italy.

A diagram showing the essential design features of the early atmospheric steam engine designed by Thomas Newcomen (1664-1729) during the Industrial Revolution. Heated water (blue) creates steam (pink) which has a much great volume. When the...

Interior of a reconstructed Bronze Age stilt house. Museum zu Allerheiligen, Schaffhausen, Germany.