Henry Bessemer

Bessemer is most widely known for the process named after him; the Bessemer steel-making process would become the most important technique for making steel in the nineteenth century and for almost one century (1856 to 1950). 

Bessemer had been trying to reduce the cost of steel-making for military ordnance, and developed his system for blowing air through molten pig iron to remove the impurities. This made steel easier, quicker and cheaper to manufacture, and revolutionised structural engineering. One of the most significant innovators of his time, Bessemer also made over 100 other inventions in the fields of iron, steel and glass.