History – On January 20, 1857, William Kelly patented the blast furnace for manufacturing steel.
The same basic process was discovered independently by Henry Bessemer and patented in 1856. Due to a financial panic in 1857, a company that had already licensed the Bessemer process was able to purchase Kelly’s patents, and licensed both under a single scheme using the Bessemer name. Kelly’s role in the invention of the process is much less known.
Patent Information
Publication number: US16444 A
Patent Title: Improvement in blast-furnaces
Publication type: Grant
Publication date: 20 Jan 1857
Inventors: William Kelly