Thomas Fowler (inventor)

Thomas Fowler (* 1777 in North Devon, † March 31, 1843 ) was an inventor and mathematician from Devon in England.

In 1828 he received a patent on a forerunner of today's central heating, which has been successfully installed on it already a year.

In 1830 he became manager of a bank and treasurer of the Torrington Poor Law Union. To facilitate his work, he invented in 1840, a wooden abacus, whose function is based on a ternary code. Although little is known about this machine, but witnesses have confirmed their functionality. In 2000, the machine was reconstructed - an original has not been preserved.