Science > Inventions > The National Inventors Hall of Fame

Henry Bessemer

Born: 1813
Birthplace: Hertfordshire, England

Bessemer steel process—In 1855 Bessemer, an English industrialist, patented the “Bessemer converter,” an early blast furnace that allowed quick and cheap production of steel in larger amounts than ever before. Previously, steel production had been a laborious process requiring skilled workers. By making possible the mass manufacture of steel, the Bessemer Process transformed production of firearms and railways and helped fuel the Industrial Revolution.

Died: 1898

Fact Monster/Information Please® Database, © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Emile Berliner The National Inventors Hall of FameCharles Best

More on Henry Bessemer from Fact Monster:

  • Sir Henry Bessemer - Bessemer, Sir Henry Bessemer, Sir Henry , English engineer and inventor, b. Charleton, ...
  • Bessemer - Bessemer Bessemer , city (1990 pop. 33,497), Jefferson co., N central Ala.; inc. 1887. Founded as a ...
  • Hitchin - Hitchin Hitchin, city (1991 pop. 33,480), Hertfordshire, SE England. Hitchin was the site of a ...
  • Bessemer process - Bessemer process Bessemer process [for Sir Henry Bessemer], industrial process for the manufacture ...
  • steel industry - steel industry steel industry, the business of processing iron ore into steel, which in its ...