Greek inventor and geometer Heron of Alexandria described a
menagerie of mechanical devices, air- and hydraulic-operated machines—and explored the utilization of steam as a motive power in the book(s) Pneumatica. Heron’s work re-appeared in translation, in 1899, when German engineer Wilhelm Schmidt published the now standard text Herons von Alexandria Druckwerke und Automatentheater : Pneumaticaet Automata.
