Sir Henry Bessemer was an English engineer, inventor, and businessman. Bessemer's name is chiefly known in connection with the Bessemer process for the manufacture of steel. Bessemer worked on the problem of manufacturing cheap steel for the purposes of ordnance production from 1850 to 1855 when he patented his method. On 24 August 1856 Bessemer first described the process to a meeting of the British Association in Cheltenham which he titled "The Manufacture of Iron Without Fuel." It was published in full in The Times.

The Bessemer process involved using oxygen in air blown through molten pig iron to burn off the impurities and thus create steel. James Nasmyth had been working on a similar idea for some time prior to this. A reluctant patentor, and in this instance still working through some problems in his method, Nasmyth abandoned the project after hearing Bessemer at the meeting. Bessemer, however, acknowledged the efforts of Nasmyth by offering him a one-third share of the value of his patent. Nasmyth turned it down as he was then about to retire.... More • http://en.wikipedia. ... y_Bessemer View • Books • Images • Videos • Search Related • Engineers • Entrepreneurs • Inventors • 1850s • Bridges • Capricorn • Cars • Great Britain • Industrial Revolution • Innovation • January 19 • London • Ships • Steam Engine • Steel • Technology • 19th Century • People