Steven Hoogendijk
Steven Hoogendijk (1 April 1698 – 3 July 1788) was a Rotterdam watch and instrument maker and physicist. His portrait to the right, shows him pointing to an early pyrometer from Pieter van Musschenbroeck with pumps in the background. In 1769, Steven Hoogendijk co-founded the Batavian Society for Experimental Philosophy, with a main aim of introducing the steam engine in the Netherlands, and with the motto: "Certos Feret experientia fructus" (experience will give reliable products).With the support of the Society at their own expense they brought a Newcomen steam engine from England to an old Powder Tower at the edge of Rotterdam. On 9 March 1776, the machine was first put into operation. The steam engine components worked well, but the self-designed wooden Hoogendijk pumps were not compatible and quickly collapsed. This made it such an impression that in 1787 a new steam engine was built in the Polder Zoo. The expected theoretical capacity of 1750 cubic feet per minute displacement was only 5% higher than the observed effective capacity.Nevertheless general acceptance in the Netherlands of the steam engine was slow due to allegiance to the existing mill methods.
Personal facts
| Birth date | April 01, 1698 |
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| Date of death | July 03, 1788 |
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