Arthur Woolf

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Arthur Woolf (born November 1766, Camborne, Cornwall; died October 26, 1837, Guernsey) was an English engineer.

Woolf left Cornwall in 1785 to work for Joseph Bramah's engineering works in London. He worked there and at other firms as an engineer and engine builder until 1811, when he returned to Cornwall. Michael Loam, inventor of the man engine, was trained by him.

In 1803, Woolf obtained a patent on an improved boiler for producing high pressure steam. In 1805, he patented his best-known invention, a compound steam engine.

Examples of Woolf compound rotative beam engines may be seen at Abbey Pumping Station and Claymills Pumping Station.

[edit] External links

• Britannica Online entry (subscription required)
• Cornish Mining World Heritage, "Engineers and Inventors"
• A. Navolari and G. Verbong, "The Development of Steam Power Technology:Cornwall and the compound engine, an evolutionary interpretation", Eindhoven University, 2001

[edit] References

• T. R. Harris, "Arthur Woolf: The Cornish Engineer 1766-1837", Truro, Bradford Barton Ltd. (1966).