William C. KellyBorn 21 Aug 1811; died 11 Feb 1888 at age 76.American ironmaster who invented the pneumatic process of making steel. While a Kentucky manufacturer of iron kettles, he discovered that cold air blown on red-hot iron caused the metal to become white-hot by igniting the carbon and thus eliminating impurities. He applied his “air boiling”technique to his own product, but his customers decried “Kelly's fool steel,”and his business declined. In a legal fight, by asserting his practical efforts investigating the process had been carried out earlier in time, his belated patent of 23 Jun 1857 won priority over the U.S. patent of Sir Henry Bessemer of Great Britain. However, Kelly's invention was only a first step. They jointly licenced their patents. Bessemer's further developments were more successful. The Bessemer-Kelly process won acceptance, produced the first inexpensive steel, and furthered the industrial age.« |
