born Jan. 19, 1813, Charlton, Hertfordshire, Eng.
died March 15, 1898, London
British inventor and engineer.
Son of a metallurgist, he set up his own casting business at 17. At that time the only iron-based construction materials were cast iron and wrought iron . So-called steel was made by adding carbon to pure forms of wrought iron (see Bessemer process (1856) led to the development of the Bessemer converter. See also basic Bessemer process ; R.F. Mushet ; {{link=puddling process">puddling process .
Bessemer, detail of an oil painting by Rudolf Lehmann; in the Iron and Steel Institute, London
Courtesy of The Iron and Steel Institute, London; photograph, The Science Museum, London