Bramah, Joseph

Bramah, Joseph (brăm`ə, brä`–), 1748–1814, English inventor. In 1784 he took out his first patent on a safety lock, and in 1795 he patented his hydraulic press, known as the Bramah press (see under hydraulic machine). He devised a numerical printing machine for bank notes and was one of the first to suggest the practicability of screw propellers and of hydraulic transmission.

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Bramah, Joseph

(born April 13, 1748, Stainborough, Yorkshire, Eng.—died Dec. 9, 1814, London) British engineer and inventor. Originally a cabinetmaker, Bramah in 1784 devised a pick-proof lock, which defied all efforts for 67 years. Since the success of his locks depended on their complexity, they could be produced in quantity only after the creation of a set of well-designed and precisely engineered machine tools, for which he hired a brilliant young blacksmith, Henry Maudslay. Their prototype machines were essential to the founding of the machine-tool industry. Bramah's hydraulic press found many industrial uses and led to the development of hydraulic machinery.