Henry Bessemer, English Inventor
Henry Bessemer (January 19, 1813 - March 15, 1898) was an English engineer, inventor, and businessman. The invention from which Henry Bessemer made his first fortune was a series of six steam-powered machines for making bronze powder. It was an early example of reverse engineering where a product is analyzed, and then reconstituted. He then worked on the problem of manufacturing cheap steel for the purposes of ordnance production from 1850 to 1855 when he patented his method. The Bessemer process was the first inexpensive industrial process for the mass-production of steel from molten pig iron. The key principle is removal of impurities from the iron by oxidation with air being blown through the molten iron. The oxidation also raises the temperature of the iron mass and keeps it molten. He was a prolific inventor and held at least 129 patents, spanning from 1838 to 1883. They were chiefly concerned with manufacturing in five areas; iron, steel, glass, sugar, and cannons or other ordnance. His autobiography describes all of his inventions, some in great detail, as one might expect from such an innovative man. It is also a very readable book which relates many amusing incidents in his long and fruitful career. He died in 1898 at the age of 85
