Engraving depicting Thomas Newcomen's atmospheric steam engine, 1705. The boiler is at A), and the piston H), is pushed by steam up the open cylinder C): it descends due to atmospheric pressure when steam in the cylinder is cooled and condensed by water from cistern, G). Thomas Newcomen (1664-1729) an English inventor who created the first practical steam engine in 1712. Dated 19th century.