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Bessemer steelmaking process patented by Henry Bessemer revolutionizes manufacturing

The Bessemer process was the first inexpensive industrial process for the mass production of steel from molten pig iron before the development of the open hearth furnace.

The Bessemer process was the first inexpensive industrial process for the mass production of steel from molten pig iron before the development of the open hearth furnace. The key principle is removal of impurities and undesired elements, primarily excess carbon contained in the pig iron by oxidation with air being blown through the molten iron. Oxidation of the excess carbon also raises the temperature of the iron mass and keeps it molten.

Virtually all the pig iron carbon is removed by the converter, and so carbon must be added at the end of the process to create steel, 0.25% carbon content is a typical value for low carbon steel which is used in construction and other low-stress applications.

Historical Significance

The Bessemer process was the first inexpensive industrial process for the mass production of steel from molten pig iron before the development of the open hearth furnace.

Events Before

  1. Alice Mary Robertson is born

    Alice Mary Robertson, American politician, known for american politician, was born on 1854-01-02.

  2. Presbyterian minister John Miller Dickey and his wife, Sarah Emlen Cresson, found Ashmun Institute, a historically Black

    Presbyterian minister John Miller Dickey and his wife, Sarah Emlen Cresson, found Ashmun Institute, a historically Black college later known as Lincoln University, in Hinsonville, Pennsylvania

  3. Republican Party is formally organized in Ripon, Wisconsin

    The Republican Party, also known as the Grand Old Party (GOP), is one of the two major political parties in the United States.

  4. Great Britain and France declare war on Russia, expanding the Crimean War

    The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of…

  5. Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria (23) weds Elisabeth, Duchess of Bavaria (16) at the Augustinerkirche, Vienna

    Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria (23) weds Elisabeth, Duchess of Bavaria (16) at the Augustinerkirche, Vienna

Events After

  1. Colonial Tasmanian Parliament passes the first piece of legislation, the Electoral Act of 1856, anywhere in the world pr

    Colonial Tasmanian Parliament passes the first piece of legislation, the Electoral Act of 1856, anywhere in the world providing for elections by way of a secret ballot

  2. Republican Party holds its first national meeting in Pittsburgh

    Republican Party holds its first national meeting in Pittsburgh

  3. The Russian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, Great Britain, France and the Kingdom of Sardinia sign the Treaty of Paris endin

    The Russian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, Great Britain, France and the Kingdom of Sardinia sign the Treaty of Paris ending the Crimean War

  4. American industrialist and firearms manufacturer Samuel Colt (41) weds American philanthropist Elizabeth Hart Jarvis (29

    American industrialist and firearms manufacturer Samuel Colt (41) weds American philanthropist Elizabeth Hart Jarvis (29) at Christ Episcopal Church in Middleton, Connecticut, until his death in 1862

  5. Mormons leave Iowa City, Iowa, and head west for Salt Lake City, Utah, carrying all their possessions in two-wheeled han

    Mormons leave Iowa City, Iowa, and head west for Salt Lake City, Utah, carrying all their possessions in two-wheeled handcarts

More from the 1850s

birth

Alice Mary Robertson is born

Alice Mary Robertson, American politician, known for american politician, was born on 1854-01-02.

birth

Tim Keefe is born

Tim Keefe, American athlete, known for american baseball player, was born on 1857-01-01.

City of Glasgow steamer inaugurates Philadelphia-Liverpool line

City of Glasgow steamer inaugurates Philadelphia-Liverpool line

National debt of Britain and Ireland is £765,126,582

National debt of Britain and Ireland is £765,126,582

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on October 17, 1855?
The Bessemer process was the first inexpensive industrial process for the mass production of steel from molten pig iron before the development of the open hearth furnace. The key principle is removal of impurities and undesired elements, primarily excess carbon contained in the pig iron by oxidation with air being blown through the molten iron. Oxidation of the excess carbon also raises the temperature of the iron mass and keeps it molten.
Why is Bessemer steelmaking process patented by Henry Bessemer revolutionizes manufa... significant?
The Bessemer process was the first inexpensive industrial process for the mass production of steel from molten pig iron before the development of the open hearth furnace.

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October 17 in HistoryYear 1855