Henry Bessemer was an English inventor and metallurgical engineer whose Bessemer process made mass production of steel from molten pig iron practical for the first time. Patented in 1856, the process blows air through molten iron to burn off carbon and impurities, converting it to steel in minutes rather than the days required by earlier methods, and it slashed the cost of steel enough to enable the railway, shipbuilding and structural steel booms of the later nineteenth century. He founded a Sheffield steelworks to prove the process commercially and was knighted in 1879 for his contributions to industry. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
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Henry Bessemer
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What else did Henry Bessemer patent besides his steelmaking process?
At least 129 patents, covering iron and steel, glass, sugar, and ordnance.
According to Grace's Guide, Henry Bessemer held at least 129 patents between 1838 and 1883. They covered four main areas: the manufacture of iron and steel, glass, sugar, and cannon and other ordnance.
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Source Henry Bessemer (Wikipedia)Wikipedia contributors
Invented
Developed the process in 1854-1856 and patented it in 1856; the American William Kelly claimed an earlier, less developed, independent discovery around 1851.
Source Bessemer Process (Wikipedia)Wikipedia contributors
Patented the basic idea of casting metal between two counter-rotating rollers in 1857, but continuous casting was not commercially implemented until the 1950s.
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Source Henry Bessemer (Wikipedia)Wikipedia contributorsLead sentence 1tier 2Quote, Lead sentence 1
Sir Henry Bessemer (19 January 1813 – 15 March 1898) was an English inventor, whose steel-making process was the most important technique for making steel in the nineteenth century for almost one hundred years.
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1. Henry Bessemer (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia FoundationLead section
Sir Henry Bessemer (19 January 1813-15 March 1898) was an English inventor, whose steel-making process was the most important technique for making steel in the nineteenth century for almost one hundred years.
- In Field: Metallurgical Engineering
In Group: Metallurgists and Materials Inventors, Introduction
Sir Henry Bessemer (19 January 1813-15 March 1898) was an English inventor, whose steel-making process was the most important technique for making steel in the nineteenth century for almost one hundred years.
View the Source Bessemer Process (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia FoundationInvented: Bessemer Process, Article bodyQuote, Invented: Bessemer Process, Article body
The modern process is named after its inventor, the Englishman Henry Bessemer, who took out a patent on the process in 1856.
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