



Hero, or Heron, of Alexandria had the astonishing bad taste to be born around 10 CE. This time period made his inventions so far ahead of their time that they could be of little practical use and in time, were forgotten.

His most famous achievement was a primitive steam engine, which was known as the aeolipile. Others before Hero had mentioned aeolipiles, but he was the first to actually describe in any sort of detail how to make a steam engine.

Hero’s aeolipile was more of an interesting curio than an actual machine that could be used to do work. If he had been born in say, 1710, his engineering prowess and incredible creativity might have made him the richest person in the world. As it is, he’ll just have to settle for the posthumous reputation of being the greatest inventor in human history.

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