Bessemer patentIn 1856, English inventor, Henry Bessemer was issued US Patent No. 16,082 for his “Manufacture of Iron and Steel” process, having previously taken out a Britishpatent for his “decarbonization process, utilizing a blast of air” that revolutionised steel manufacturing (No. 66/1855, 10 Jan 1855). However, the U.S. patent was shortly challenged in a dispute over priority. The American William Kelly—though filing after Bessemer—was recognized as the first to actually use a blast of air into molten pig iron to make steel. Nevertheless, Bessemer benefitted from his patent on the tilting converter in which he processed the iron and then could pour out the molten steel.«[Image: Figure from Bessemer's patent showing end elevation of the tilting mechanism. The circular end of the refining chamber is seen in the lower half of the diagram.] |
