Thomas Fowler

Thomas Fowler (1777 – 31 March 1843) was an English inventor whose most notable invention was the thermosiphon which formed the basis of early hot water central heating systems. He also designed and built an early mechanical calculator. Life Much of the knowledge of Fowler comes from his son, the Reverend Hugh Fowler, who produced a biography of his father which was published in the Transactions of the Devonshire Association in 1875. He was born in 1777 in Great Torrington, Devon and lived his whole life there. His father was a cooper and he received a basic education at a local school. At about the age of 13 he was apprenticed to a fellmonger. He was largely self-taught, with a particular interest in mathematics, teaching himself from such works as John Ward's Young Mathematician's Guide and Nicholas Saunderson's work on fluxions: The Method of Fluxions. He established himself as printer and bookseller, later becoming a partner in and manager of the local bank. He was also the treasurer of the Torrington Poor Law Union. He married Mary Copp in 1813 and they had eleven children, many of whom died before reaching adulthood. He died on 31 March 1843 of Dropsy of the Chest. Fowler has a memorial window in the Chapel of St James in the Church of St Michael and All Angels in his native Great Torrington. The window was commissioned by his son Hugh around 1864. The border shows two of his inventions: the thermosiphon and a calculating machine. Inventions