In existographies, David Ramsay (c.1590-1653) (EP:7) or "Ramseye" (Thurston, 1878), was a Scottish engineer and clockmaker, noted for []
Overview
In 1618, Ramsay was appointed the royal “chief clockmaker” for James VI and I (1566-1625) (Cattell 1000:140), a post which he held into the reign of Charles I (1600-1649).
In this period, Ramsay, as pointed out by Harry Kitsikopoulos (2015), would have become acquainted with the steam device work of Salomon de Caus, whom James VI and I had employed as a tutor for his eldest son Henry, prince of Wales (1594-1612).
On 21 Jan 1630, Ramsay was granted a patent, by Charles I, for nine purported inventions, the following four seemingly having to do with heat engines: [4]
2. To raise water from low pitts by fire.
3. To make any sort of mills to goe on standing waters by continual motion, without help of wind, water, or horse.
5. To make boats, shippes, and barges to goe against strong wind and tide.
7. To raise water from low places and mynes, and coal pitts, by a new waie never yet in use.
There is no information, however, concerning what he had in mind or what he did with it. [1] In any event, this has been cited (Thurston, 1878) being the first authentic reference of the use of steam in literature in England.
Quotes | On
The following are quotes on Ramsay:
“In 1618, David Ramsay obtained a patent for a new engine to plough without horses or oxen, to raise water, and propel ships without sails; also, in 1630, to raise water by fire from deep pits, move ships against wind or tide, and to fertilize the earth.”
— Daniel Clark (1892), An Elementary Treatise on Steam and the Steam-Engine [2]
References
1. (a) Kirby, Richard. (1956). Engineering in History (co-authors: Sidney Withington, Arthur Darling, Frederick Kilgour) (pg. 155). Courier, 1990.
(b) Forrester, Rochelle. (2006). “The Invention of the Steam Engine” (Ѻ), RochelleForrester.ac.nz.
2. Clark, Daniel K. (1892). An Elementary Treatise on Steam and the Steam-Engine: Stationary and Portable (pg. 17). Lockwood.
3. (a) Cust, Lionel H. (1900). Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Volume 14 (§: De Caus, Salomon) (WS). Publisher.
(b) Kitsikopoulos, Harry. (2105). Innovation and Technological Diffusion: and Economic History of Early Steam Engines (pg. #). Routledge.
4. Thurston, Robert. (1878). A History of the Growth of the Steam-Engine (pg. 17). Appleton and Company.
External links
● David Ramsay (watchmaker) – Wikipedia.
