Richard Newsham

Richard Newsham (?—1743) was an English inventor. In 1721 he took out a patent on the first American fire engine pump. The engine had two single-acting pumps and an air vessel placed in a tank which formed the frame of the machine. The pumps were worked by two men at the long cross handles. At the front of the engine, protected by a sheet of horn and a door, were directions for keeping the machine in order. [cite news |title= Science and Society Picture Library - Search|url= http://www.scienceandsociety.co.uk/results.asp?
] The cistern could hold about 170 gallons of water pumping up to 100 gallons a minute. [cite news |title= On TV : A CARography : Fire Engines:Powerful Pumpers (303) : Fine Living|url= http://www.fineliving.com/fine/making_the_mark/episode/0,1663,FINE_1412_23171,00.html| |publisher= |first= |last= |date= |accessdate= 2007-01-17] New York City imported its first two fire engines from Newsham in 1731. [cite news |title= New York City Fire Museum - Education and Fire Safety|url= http://www.nycfiremuseum.org/education/history/chapter2.php| |publisher= |first= |last= |date= |accessdate= 2007-01-17] In 1737 Newsham made a manual fire pump for the Parish of Bray in Berkshire.

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