Ctesibius, a Greek who flourished under Ptolemy Philadelphus and Euergetes, at Alexandria, about 250 years B.C., and was famous for his inventions in mechanics. We owe to him and his pupil Hero Alexandrinus, the pump, the bent siphon, and also the discovery of the elastic force of air, and its application as a motive power.
Ctesibius
Chambers's Encyclopaedia, Volume 3: Catarrh to Dion, p. 603
Source scan(s): p. 0614