Bessemer Steel Process
Definition:
The Bessemer Steel Process was a process of producing high-quality steel by shooting air into molten steel to burn off carbon and other impurities. It was named for the British inventor Sir Henry Bessemer, who worked to develop the process in the 1850s.
While Bessemer was working on his process in England, an American, William Kelly, developed a process using the same principle, which he patented in 1857.
Both Bessemer and Kelly were responding to a great need to refine the methods of manufacturing steel. In the decades before the Civil War steel was produced in great quantities, but the quality of it often varied widely. And with large machines, such as steam locomotives, and large structures, such as suspension bridges, being planned and built, better steel became a necessity.
The Bessemer Process revolutionized steel making, and the manufacturing of steel created a revolution in business. The American businessman Andrew Carnegie, during his business trips to England in the years following the Civil War, took special note of the Bessemer process.
In 1872 Carnegie visited a plant in England which was using Bessemer’s method, and he realized the potential of producing the same quality of steel in America. Carnegie learned everything he could about steel production, and began using the Bessemer Process at mills he owned in America. By the mid-1870s Carnegie was heavily involved in steel production.
In time Carnegie would dominate the steel industry, and high quality steel would make possible the building of factories which defined the industrialization of America in the late 1800s.
The Bessemer Steel Process was a process of producing high-quality steel by shooting air into molten steel to burn off carbon and other impurities. It was named for the British inventor Sir Henry Bessemer, who worked to develop the process in the 1850s.
While Bessemer was working on his process in England, an American, William Kelly, developed a process using the same principle, which he patented in 1857.
Both Bessemer and Kelly were responding to a great need to refine the methods of manufacturing steel. In the decades before the Civil War steel was produced in great quantities, but the quality of it often varied widely. And with large machines, such as steam locomotives, and large structures, such as suspension bridges, being planned and built, better steel became a necessity.
The Bessemer Process revolutionized steel making, and the manufacturing of steel created a revolution in business. The American businessman Andrew Carnegie, during his business trips to England in the years following the Civil War, took special note of the Bessemer process.
In 1872 Carnegie visited a plant in England which was using Bessemer’s method, and he realized the potential of producing the same quality of steel in America. Carnegie learned everything he could about steel production, and began using the Bessemer Process at mills he owned in America. By the mid-1870s Carnegie was heavily involved in steel production.
In time Carnegie would dominate the steel industry, and high quality steel would make possible the building of factories which defined the industrialization of America in the late 1800s.
