Benjamin Huntsman

Benjamin Huntsman (1704 to 1776) was an English inventor and manufacturer of crucible steel. Born on 4 June 1704 as the third son of a Quaker farmer in Epworth, Lincolnshire, he started in business as a clock, lock and tool maker at Doncaster, where he gained a local reputation for scientific knowledge and skilled workmanship. Finding that the poor steel then available hampered his own products, he began to experiment in steel manufacture in 1740, moving to Handsworth near Sheffield to secure cheaper coke fuel. After several years of trials he produced a satisfactory cast steel, purer and harder than any steel then in use. Sheffield cutlers at first refused it as too hard, so he exported it to France until competition forced them to use it. He never patented the process and died on 20 June 1776.