Jerónimo de Ayanz y Beaumont (1553 – 23 March 1613) was a Spanish soldier, painter, astronomer, musician and inventor. He pioneered the use and design of the steam engine, as well as mining ventilation systems, improved scientific instrumentation, developed windmills and new types of furnaces for metallurgical, industrial, military, and even domestic operations. He invented a diving bell, patented an immersion suit tested before the court of
Felipe III in
Pisuerga, on August 2, 1602, and designed a submarine.
Biography
He was born in
Guendulain (
Cizur) (
Navarre
Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...
), the son of Carlos de Ayanz, captain of the
Pamplona
Pamplona (; ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Navarre, Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain.
Lying at near above sea level, the city (and the wider Cuenca de Pamplona) is located on the flood pl ...
garrison, and Catalina de Beaumont. He was the second of the male siblings, the eldest being Don Francés de Ayanz, born a year earlier. His mother, Doña Catalina de Beaumont y Navarra, instilled in her children the principles of an education appropriate to her rank. He spent his childhood in the Guenduláin manor until in 1567 he went to serve King
Felipe II as a page. At court he was instructed in military skills, letters, the arts, and mathematics, which later would serve him for his studies of cosmography.
Military career
His father, Carlos de Ayanz, took part in the campaigns in France, participating in the
battle of St. Quentin in 1557 and in the punitive expedition to the then pirate port of San Juan de Luz. Jerónimo, after his training in
El Escorial
El Escorial, or the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial (), or (), is a historical residence of the king of Spain located in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, up the valley ( road distance) from the town of El Escorial, Madrid, El ...
, began his military career in 1571. In 1573 he participated in campaigns in
Tunisia
Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...
, under the orders of
John of Austria. Failing the defense of
La Goleta, in 1574 he was assigned to
Lombardy
The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...
, where he served under the command of
Alexander Farnese for a few years.
He made the
Spanish Road, from Milan to
Namur
Namur (; ; ) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is the capital both of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration.
Namur stands at the confl ...
, together with his companions from the tercio under the command of
Lope de Figueroa, in the record time of 32 days, in the middle of winter, to go to
Flanders
Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...
at the call of the
Duke of Alba. He participated in the
battle of Gembloux, in 1578, and in the assault on the city of
Zierikzee
Zierikzee () is a small city in the southwest Netherlands, 50 km southwest of Rotterdam. It is situated in the municipality of Schouwen-Duiveland, Zeeland. The city hall of Schouwen-Duiveland is located in Zierikzee, its largest city. Zierikze ...
he carried out one of his legendary feats when, badly wounded, he continued to fight until he got rid of his attackers.
It was these events that
Lope de Vega
Félix Lope de Vega y Carpio (; 25 November 156227 August 1635) was a Spanish playwright, poet, and novelist who was a key figure in the Spanish Golden Age (1492–1659) of Spanish Baroque literature, Baroque literature. In the literature of ...
reflected on later in his comedy titled ''Lo que pasa en una tarde (What happens in an afternoon'', 1617), referring to him as "the new
Alcides" and "the knight with the bronze fingers", due to his ability to break plates with just two fingers.
In 1579 he was in
Madrid
Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
, convalescent, and received some income from Felipe II in recognition of his actions in
Flanders
Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...
. The following year, he commanded a detachment to participate, under the orders of
Sancho Dávila, in the Portuguese campaign. In 1581 he prevented the attack that a Frenchman planned against Felipe II. In 1582, under the orders of the
Marquis of Santa Cruz, he boarded the ships that headed for the
Azores
The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atl ...
participated in the
Battle of Vila Franca do Campo.
For this courage and bravery, the king awarded him the
Military Order of Calatrava. On May 7, 1582, he had received the Ballesteros de Calatrava
Commandery and years later, on January 30, 1595, he would receive the Abanilla Commandery.
In 1587 he was appointed general administrator of ''Minas del Reino'' (Kingdom Mines), the management of the 550 mines that were then in Spain and those that were exploited in
America
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. He was able to solve some of the serious mining problems of that time.
Settled and residing in
Murcia
Murcia ( , , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the Capital (political), capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the Ranked lists of Spanish municipalities#By population, seventh largest city i ...
, where he would act as alderman for a long time, he was concerned about the safety of the coast, achieving the establishment in
Cartagena of part of the fleet established in
Barcelona
Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
, giving way, since then, to the current
naval base. In 1589 he gathered a Murcian troop and, together with his brother Francés, who had also gathered Navarrese troops at his expense, went to
La Coruña in support of Juan Padilla, captain of the garrison, where a determined
María Pita successfully stopped
Francis Drake
Sir Francis Drake ( 1540 – 28 January 1596) was an English Exploration, explorer and privateer best known for making the Francis Drake's circumnavigation, second circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition between 1577 and 1580 (bein ...
and his
Counter Armada.
He was also governor of
Martos until 1597.
Tomb
He died from an illness in
Madrid
Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
, in 1613. According to his wishes, his body was transferred to the city of Murcia, resting in the Convent of San Antonio. He was later moved to the Capilla del Socorro, located in the ambulatory of the Murcia Cathedral, a chapel that belonged to the Dávalos, a family with which he had become related after his marriage to Blanca de Pagán Fajardo, and widower of the latter, with his sister Luisa, after being appointed by Felipe II Commander of Abanilla (Order of Calatrava) and then Councilor of Murcia.
Patented inventions
Up to 48 inventions were recognized in 1606 by the ''privilegio de invención'' (invention privilege)—as patents had been called at the time—signed by Philip III.

* He built an air-renovated diving suit that allowed a man to remain underwater in the
Pisuerga river on 2 August 1602. The diver spent an hour underwater before being ordered to return by King
Philip III.
*He also designed "a submersible load barge and a smaller bathyscaphe, both of them equipped with oars, gloves and portholes to manipulate things, floating snorkels to renovate the air from the inside via pumps, and even commodities, like an inner water-powered fan to cool down the crew."
* He patented a steam-powered pump system to drain water and gas out of the mines after a mining accident in which he almost died in a mine tunnel. This mechanism was successfully tested in Guadalcanal.
He is best remembered for the invention of the first steam-powered water pump for draining mines, for which he was granted a patent by the Spanish monarchy in 1606.
He also improved scientific equipment, windmills and developed new types of furnaces for industrial, military and household use. He invented a bell-like diving suit and designed a submarine.
File:Jerónimo de Ayanz - Inventos 09.jpg
File:Jerónimo de Ayanz - Inventos 18.jpg
File:Jerónimo de Ayanz - Inventos 07.jpg
File:Jerónimo de Ayanz - Inventos 14.jpg
File:Jeronimo de Ayanz - Inventos 12.jpg
See also
*
Steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs Work (physics), mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a Cylinder (locomotive), cyl ...
*
History of the steam engine
The first recorded rudimentary steam engine was the aeolipile mentioned by De Architectura#Roman technology, Vitruvius between 30 and 15 BC and, described by Heron of Alexandria in 1st-century Roman Egypt. Several steam-powered devices were lat ...
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayanz y Beaumont, Jeronimo de
1553 births
1613 deaths
Spanish astronomers
Spanish painters
Spanish musicians
Spanish inventors
Steam engine engineers