1813 – 1898
Henry Bessemer
United KingdomMaterials & Metallurgy
Background
An English inventor and engineer with a long list of patents.
Contribution
Patented (1856) the process of blowing air through molten pig iron to burn off impurities and mass-produce steel cheaply — the Bessemer process.
Popular credit vs. the record
William Kelly developed a similar pneumatic process independently in the U.S.; Robert Mushet's addition of spiegeleisen was essential to making the steel usable.
Associated inventions
Collaborators & contemporaries
Sources & further reading
Each citation names the publisher and the exact reference title.
- Encyclopædia Britannica — technology & biography topic articlesEncyclopædia Britannica · Encyclopedia
- Science Museum Group Collection & topic articlesScience Museum Group (UK) · Museum
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