Bento de Moura Portugal ( 1702 - 1776 )

Birth: Moimenta da Serra, Guarda, Portugal, Europe (21 March 1702) Death: 27 January 1766 Profession: Aristocrat Research Field: Engineering, natural philosophy Career: Advocate of Newtonian principals; demonstrated his steam engine, based on that of Thomas Savery, to the Portuguese court in Lisbon (1742); tried and found guilty by the Inquisition based on his invention; imprisoned in Junqueira Prison, Lisbon Membership: Fellow Election Date: 5/02/1741.