Invention of the Hydraulic Press

Joseph Bramah is an inventor from England who was born on April 13, 1748 in Yorkshire, England. He started his invention work when he designed a lock, and received a patent for it in 1784. He soon started a lock company called Bramah Locks, whose locks were well known for their resistance to tampering and lock picking. In fact, they had a famous “challenge lock” hanging outside of the store, which promised to offer 200 guinea (a British coin) to whoever could open the lock. The lock remained unopened for 67 years, and it took the locksmith who eventually opened the lock 51 hours to do so. The original lock remains in the Science Museum in London.
An avid inventor, Joseph Bramah and his colleagues also spent a great deal of time developing tools to assist in the manufacturing processes of his business. His goal was to create more efficient processes for his business. Out of these developments came the hydraulic press which proved to be Joseph Bramah’s biggest invention. He was granted a patent for the hydraulic press in 1795. The machine is still sometimes known as the Bramah Press today after its inventor.
He went on to invent many other things, though none quite as impressive as the hydraulic press, such as a beer engine, a paper-making machine, a fountain pen and a hydrostatic press. Joseph Bramah passed away in December of 1814 at the age of 66. His invention of the hydraulic press shaped the way manufacturing processes operate, and efficiently changed the manufacturing world. He will forever be remembered for his invention of the hydraulic press and is often considered one of the fathers of hydraulic engineering because of his involvement in the invention of the hydraulic press.