Michael Loam was a Cornish

Cornish people

The Cornish are a people associated with Cornwall, a county and Duchy in the south-west of the United Kingdom that is seen in some respects as distinct from England, having more in common with the other Celtic parts of the United Kingdom such as Wales, as well as with other Celtic nations in Europe...

 engineer who introduced the first man engine

Man engine

A man engine is a mechanism of reciprocating ladders and stationary platforms installed in mines to assist the miners’ journeys to and from the working levels...

 (a device to carry men up and down the shaft of a mine) into the UK.

In 1834, concerned for the health of miners and for the loss in profits incurred by their long, slow climbs by ladders, the Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society

Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society

The Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society is an educational, cultural and scientific charity, based in Falmouth, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The Society exists to promote innovation in the arts and sciences...

 announced a prize for the design of a better system of transporting miners in and out of the deep mines in the county. Michael Loam won this prize in 1841 for his man engine, despite evidence that it was already in use in the Hartz

Hartz

Hartz is a surname, and may refer to:*Harris Hartz , U.S. federal judge*Harry Hartz , U.S. racecar driver*Jim Hartz , U.S. television personality*Louis Hartz , U.S. political scientist...

 Mountains in Germany.

Inspired by the German designs and constructed of a series of moving platforms, the first man engine was installed in 1842 at Tresavean Mine—one of the deepest in Cornwall at the time. Its adoption was encouraged by the mine's owner, John Rogers

John Rogers (divine)

John Rogers , divine was born at Plymouth on 17 July 1778. He was the eldest son of John Rogers, the M.P. for Penryn and Helston and Margaret, daughter of Francis Basset....

.

Loam was trained as an engineer at Wheal Abraham by Arthur Woolf

Arthur Woolf

Arthur Woolf was a Cornish engineer, most famous for inventing a high-pressure compound steam engine. As such he made an outstanding contribution to the development and perfection of the Cornish engine.Woolf left Cornwall in 1785 to work for Joseph Bramah's engineering works in London...

. He remained active in the metal mining and smelting industries in Cornwall and is noted as an investor in the Tamar Tin Smelting Company in 1863.

External links

• Portrait of Michael Loam, at the Science Museum