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Pope Sylvester II (946-1003), also known as Gerbert, built church organs powered by steam, a great innovation of the time, which eliminated having people force air through the organ pipes by physically operating bellows while another person actually played the organ keys.
He also constructed the precursor to Galileo's telescope, and became one of the first great collectors of books.
For more information, see the websites of Christian Classics Ethereal Library, and Encyclopedia Britannica.
