Bessemer: the technology and the times

Abstract

Sir Henry Bessemer, FRS was above all an entrepreneur, interested in making money and with a good eye for a market opening. He was also of course an inventor, but one who had had only a rudimentary education. While he was himself convinced that this lack of a formal education gave him the advantage of avoiding a certain type of mindset, it was also a drawback when he came up against more complex technical problems. Nevertheless, Bessemer's revolutionary steelmaking process changed the world: before, steel had been used only in small items such as clock springs and cutlery; afterwards, it rapidly found use in the full range of structural applications. In this the centenary year of his death, it is well that we look back on his remarkable achievements.