Sir Henry Bessemer, British inventor and engineer, 1880

Sir Henry Bessemer, British inventor and engineer, 1880. Sculptured bust. Bessemer (1813-1898) learned metallurgy working in his father's foundry. In 1856, in response to demand for stronger cannon able to fire a new type of artillery shell in the Crimean War, he invented the Bessemer process, enabling molten pig-iron to be turned into steel by a blowing air through it in a tilting converter. This was the first process for producing large amounts of good quality steel cheaply. In 1859 Bessemer established a steelworks in Sheffield, initially specialising in the manufacture of guns, and later in rails for the rapidly expanding railway network. He was also responsible for numerous other inventions, including 'gold' paint using powdered brass and a process for manufacturing graphite pencil leads. ©SSPL/Science Museum