1-158-432 - Oxford Science Archive/Heritage Images

Denis Papin, French physicist, 1870. In 1675, Papin (1647-1712) went to London where he worked with Robert Boyle and invented the forerunner to the pressure cooker, the 'steam digester', which was used to soften bones. He also made a working model of an atmospheric condensing steam engine which was later developed by both Thomas Newcomen and James Watt. Among the items at the bottom of the picture are his digester, left, and his steam engine, centre. From Vies des Savant Illustres by Louis Figuier. (Paris, 1870).