An apocryphal story originating in 1851 by Louis Figuire held that this ship was steam-powered rather than hand-powered and that it was therefore the first steam-powered vehicle of any kind.

In 1705, Papin constructed a ship powered by hand-cranked paddles. Details of the engine were published in 1707. In 1705 while teaching mathematics at the University of Marburg, he developed a second steam engine with the help of Gottfried Leibniz, based on an invention by Thomas Savery, but this used steam pressure rather than atmospheric pressure. While in Marburg in 1690, having observed the mechanical power of atmospheric pressure on his 'digester', Papin built a model of a piston steam engine, the first of its kind. (Engineer John Smeaton utilised this design in 1789. In 1689, Papin suggested that a force pump or bellows could maintain the pressure and fresh air inside a diving bell.

In Germany, he was able to live with fellow Huguenot exiles from France, so in about 1687, he left to take up an academic post in Germany. As a Huguenot, Papin found himself greatly affected by the increasing restrictions placed on Protestants by Louis XIV of France and by the King's ultimate revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. He first addressed the Royal Society in 1679 on the subject of his digester, and remained mostly in London. During this period, Papin invented the steam digester, a type of pressure cooker with a safety valve. In 1675, he first visited London, where he worked with Robert Boyle from 1676 to 1679, publishing an account of his work in Continuation of New Experiments (1680). In 1673, Papin worked with Christiaan Huygens and Gottfried Leibniz in Paris, and became interested in using a vacuum to generate motive power.

In 1661, he attended the University of Angers, from which he graduated with a medical degree in 1669. Early life and education īorn in Chitenay ( Loir-et-Cher, Centre-Val de Loire Région), Papin attended a Jesuit school there. Denis Papin FRS ( French pronunciation: 22 August 1647 – 26 August 1713) was a French physicist, mathematician and inventor, best known for his pioneering invention of the steam digester, the forerunner of the pressure cooker and of the steam engine.

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