Giovanni Branca (1571-1645) was an italian engineer and architect from Loretto who, in 1929, designed a steam turbine, which he didn't build. Loretto is the name of a number of places in the United States of America: Loretto, Alabama Loretto, Florida Loretto, Illinois Loretto, Kentucky Loretto, Maryland Loretto, Michigan Loretto, Minnesota Loretto, Nebraska Loretto, Pennsylvania Loretto, Tennessee Loretto, Virginia Loretto is also the name of a place elsewhere: Loretto, Ontario Loretto, Burgenland... A rotor of a modern steam turbine, used in a power plant A steam turbine is a mechanical device that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam, and converts it into useful mechanical work. ...

He suggested using steam to blow a windmill-like device for power, as modern steam turbines do. Pitstone Windmill, believed to be the oldest windmill in the British Isles A windmill is an engine powered by the wind to produce energy, often contained in a large building as in traditional post mills, smock mills and tower mills. ...

(It's unclear whether he died in 1940 or 1945)