Short answers, pulled from the story.
Hero of Alexandria described a device called the aeolipile in the first century AD. This Hellenistic mathematician and engineer created a rudimentary steam-powered engine that spun a sphere using escaping steam jets.
Thomas Savery developed the first commercial steam-powered device in 1698. This water pump used condensing steam to create a vacuum that raised water from below and utilized steam pressure to lift the water higher.
James Watt developed an improved version between 1763 and 1775. His innovation involved adding a separate condenser to remove spent steam which allowed Boulton and Watt's early engines to use half as much coal as John Smeaton's improved version of Newcomen's.
Richard Trevithick obtained his high-pressure engine patent in 1802. These new designs were much more powerful for a given cylinder size than previous engines and could be made small enough for transport applications.
Typical speeds reach three thousand six hundred revolutions per minute in the United States with sixty Hertz power systems. Ninety percent of electric power is produced using steam turbines with a variety of heat sources including nuclear power plants.