IR museum News Article

BESSEMER RECIEVES CREDIT FOR KELLY’S WORK.

An American Citizen William Kelly introduced to the community, an idea on how to create steel. Kelly unfortunately resulted in Bankruptcy due to financial problems, and is now forced to sell his patent. His patent “blowing air through molten rock to reduce impurities” seeks its buyer. Not so long ago, Henry Bessemer, our British inventor, purchased this patent and is currently building onto the idea. He is making minor changes to increase the level of creating successful steel. Bessemer, for building on with what Kelly left, naturally became known. His name later on was used for this process.

William Kelly was born in Pennsylvania. In 1846, he purchased an iron manufacturing company, and changed its original name, Eddyville iron-work, to Kelly & Company. He started his experiments by air-boiling, which is the process of blowing air through molten iron to reduce the carbon content.

William Kelly was educated in metallurgy, during his college. At the same time, Henry Bessemer received little education on metallurgy from his father. Henry Bessemer was known for other useful inventions, such as railway operation, and sugar refining. He had very limited education on metallurgy then, but he was able to build a working converter on creating steel. It was called the Bessemer’s converter.

Soon after Bessemer’s converter went Public, the people took it that Bessemer had come up with the idea and manufactured this converter all on his own, with no outside help. The story is now uncovered. Bessemers’ help and kick off, William Kelly, is well as much part of the process. Bessemer’s name was used for the process and naturally, so was its converter. Kelly, unknown, spent the rest of his life manufacturing axes, and working in banking.

-SA
(Sabei Aung)