Pneumatic hammers were developed in response to the needs of mining, quarries, excavations and tunnels. A pneumatic hammer was proposed by C. Brunton in 1844.[2]​ The first "percussion hammer" was made in 1848 and patented in 1849 by Jonathan J. Couch of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[3]​ In this hammer, the drill bit passed through the piston of a steam engine. The piston hooked the drill bit and launched it against the rock. It was an experimental model. In 1849, Couch's assistant, Joseph W. Fowle, filed a patent notice for a percussion hammer of his own design. In Fowle's hammer, the drill bit was connected directly to the piston in the steam cylinder; specifically, the drill bit was connected to the piston crosshead. The hammer also had a mechanism to rotate the bit around its axis between blows and to advance the hammer as the hole deepened.[4] By 1850 or 1851, Fowle was using compressed air to power his drill, making it the first true pneumatic hammer.[5]

Demand for jackhammers was driven especially by miners and tunnellers, because steam engines needed fire to operate and ventilation in mines and tunnels was inadequate to vent the fumes from such fires; There was also no way to transport steam over long distances (for example, from the surface to the bottom of a mine); and in mines and tunnels there were occasionally flammable explosive gases such as methane. On the contrary, compressed air could be transported over long distances without losing its energy, and after the compressed air had been used to power the equipment, it could ventilate the mine or tunnel.

In Europe, from the late 1840s, the King of Sardinia, Carlo Alberto, contemplated digging a 12-kilometre tunnel through Mount Fréjus to create a railway connection between Italy and France that would cross his kingdom. The need for a mechanical rock hammer was obvious and this sparked research into such hammers in Europe. A Frenchman, Cavé, designed, and in 1851 patented, a rock hammer. rock that used compressed air; but the air had to be manually admitted into the cylinder during each stroke, so it was not successful.[8]​ In 1854, in England, Thomas Bartlett made and later patented (1855) a rock hammer whose bit was connected directly to the piston of a steam engine. In 1855 Bartlett showed his hammer, powered by compressed air, to the officials of the Mount Fréjus Tunnel Project.[9]​ (In 1855, a German, Schumann, invented a similar pneumatic rock drill in Freiburg, Germany.[10]​ Bartlett's hammer was refined by engineer Germain Sommeiller") (1815-1871) and his colleagues, Grandis and Grattoni, in 1861.[11]​ Thereafter, many inventors refined the pneumatic drill.[12]​.

Pneumatic hammers were developed in response to the needs of mining, quarries, excavations and tunnels. A pneumatic hammer was proposed by C. Brunton in 1844.[2]​ The first "percussion hammer" was made in 1848 and patented in 1849 by Jonathan J. Couch of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[3]​ In this hammer, the drill bit passed through the piston of a steam engine. The piston hooked the drill bit and launched it against the rock. It was an experimental model. In 1849, Couch's assistant, Joseph W. Fowle, filed a patent notice for a percussion hammer of his own design. In Fowle's hammer, the drill bit was connected directly to the piston in the steam cylinder; specifically, the drill bit was connected to the piston crosshead. The hammer also had a mechanism to rotate the bit around its axis between blows and to advance the hammer as the hole deepened.[4] By 1850 or 1851, Fowle was using compressed air to power his drill, making it the first true pneumatic hammer.[5]

Demand for jackhammers was driven especially by miners and tunnellers, because steam engines needed fire to operate and ventilation in mines and tunnels was inadequate to vent the fumes from such fires; There was also no way to transport steam over long distances (for example, from the surface to the bottom of a mine); and in mines and tunnels there were occasionally flammable explosive gases such as methane. On the contrary, compressed air could be transported over long distances without losing its energy, and after the compressed air had been used to power the equipment, it could ventilate the mine or tunnel.

In Europe, from the late 1840s, the King of Sardinia, Carlo Alberto, contemplated digging a 12-kilometre tunnel through Mount Fréjus to create a railway connection between Italy and France that would cross his kingdom. The need for a mechanical rock hammer was obvious and this sparked research into such hammers in Europe. A Frenchman, Cavé, designed, and in 1851 patented, a rock hammer. rock that used compressed air; but the air had to be manually admitted into the cylinder during each stroke, so it was not successful.[8]​ In 1854, in England, Thomas Bartlett made and later patented (1855) a rock hammer whose bit was connected directly to the piston of a steam engine. In 1855 Bartlett showed his hammer, powered by compressed air, to the officials of the Mount Fréjus Tunnel Project.[9]​ (In 1855, a German, Schumann, invented a similar pneumatic rock drill in Freiburg, Germany.[10]​ Bartlett's hammer was refined by engineer Germain Sommeiller") (1815-1871) and his colleagues, Grandis and Grattoni, in 1861.[11]​ Thereafter, many inventors refined the pneumatic drill.[12]​.