Engineer and inventor of the “Bessemer Process” for mass produced high quality steel, transforming industry and creating wealth for many.

City of London Connections

Sir Henry Bessemer was an Honorary Freeman of the City of London, and Murray Craig (Clerk to the Chamberlain’s Court) has said that the Gold Casket containing the specially illuminated copy of Sir Henry’s Honorary Freedom is one of the most splendid and intricate he has ever seen.

Sir Henry was also a Freeman of the Turners and an Honorary Freeman of both the Cutlers and the Armourers & Brasiers. Sir Henry’s main place of business throughout his industrious career was at 4 Queen’s Street Place, next to Vintners’ Hall. Sir Henry’s father, Anthony Bessemer, also a mechanical engineer, was born at 6 Old Broad Street next to the French Protestant Church (opposite Merchant Taylors’ Hall) in 1763; and Sir Henry’s three siblings were all born and christened between 1803 to 1808 in the City of London. Sir Henry lived at 15 Northampton Square which is now the site of City, University of London – and a Bessemer Blue Plaque was unveiled at the main entrance to the University Building on 16 May 2017.

Contribution to Engineering during Lifetime

Sir Henry is best known for the “Bessemer Process” – the world’s first mass production system for producing high-quality carbon steel by blowing hot air through molten pig iron which led to greater efficiency and lower prices.
Sir Henry’s invention transformed industry in the Victorian age and changed the face of the world, helping to promote Britain’s reputation for engineering excellence and introducing steel throughout the British Empire.

The mass production of quality steel was used in a wide range of structural applications including railway lines, bridges, buildings, girders, ships, guns, ordnance and other areas of heavy engineering. Sir Henry was an engineering genius and a prolific inventor with over 117 Patents issued between 1838 to 1883, but only 36 of these are to do with iron and steel.

His other inventions include: graphite to be used in lead pencils; engine turning and printing; manufacture of Utrecht Velvet; gold paint from bronze powder; glass manufacture; machinery for raising and forcing water; railway engines and carriages; treatment of pit coal; ventilation of mines; manufacture and treatment of sugar; waterproof fabrics; asphalt pavements; diamond cutting and polishing; grindstones and artificial stones; and numerous patents for naval and military guns, armour plate projectiles and ordnance. Sir Henry exhibited at the 1851 Great Exhibition at Crystal Palace, Hyde Park where his goddaughter sang the National Anthem at its opening; and at the 1862 International Exhibition in South Kensington; as well as the World Exhibition of 1867 in Paris where he was awarded the Grand Prix Gold Medal by Emperor Napoleon III.

Legacy

Sir Henry Bessemer, along with the Duke of Devonshire, was the co-founder of the Iron and Steel Institute on 25 February 1869 which is now the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3).
Sir Henry established and endowed the “Bessemer Gold Medal” in 1874 as an annual award for the most important improvement in iron and steel manufacture during the year. The first recipient was Sir Isaac Lowthian Bell, and the Bessemer Gold Medal is still presented by IOM3 along with an annual “Bessemer Lecture”.
Sir Henry Bessemer was a patron of the Royal School of Mines (now Imperial College). The Ashton Webb building of 1909 was funded by the Bessemer Memorial Committee, and the building contained the Bessemer Laboratory in his honour. Sir Henry’s name is inscribed on the building in Prince Consort Road alongside HRH Prince Albert and Sir Carl Wilhelm Siemens.
The “Bessemer Suite” at the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining has a large collection of Bessemer memorabilia and artefacts including Atlases of Mechanical Drawings made by Sir Henry.
The Science Museum also has a large collection of Bessemer artefacts, including an early 5-ton Bessemer Converter which produced the first cast of Bessemer Steel at the Barrow Hematite Steel Company Ltd. in May 1865.

Blue Plaques:

• City, University of London – Northampton Square campus (site of where he lived from 1833 – pictured left)

• Bessemer House (former offices of Bessemer Steel Co) Carlisle Street East, Sheffield

• Charlton House, Charlton, Hitchin (place of birth)

Busts of Sir Henry Bessemer at:
• Imperial College London
• Royal School of Mines
• Science Museum

There are Bessemer Converters at:
• Science Museum
• Kelham Island Museum, Sheffield
Buildings named after Bessemer at:
• Imperial College London
• Kings College Hospital, Denmark Hill
The grave of Sir Henry Bessemer and Lady Ann at West Norwood Cemetery (grave 27,463, square 99) is Grade II listed and is part of a Heritage Trail.

Decorations and Recognition

• Knighthood by HM Queen Victoria at Windsor Castle (26 June 1879)
• Knight Commander of the Order of Franz-Joseph – presented by His Imperial Majesty Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria (1867)
• Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor – presented by Emperor Napoleon III of France (1867)
• Honorary Freedom of the City of London (6th October 1880)
• Freedom of the Worshipful Company of Turners (15 April 1880)

• Honorary Freedom of the Worshipful Company of Cutlers (19 January 1881)
• Honorary Freedom of the Worshipful Company of Armourers and Brasiers (15 January 1885)
• Honorary Freedom of the City of Hamburg
• Telford Gold Medal – Institution of Civil Engineers (1858)
• Associate of the Institution of Civil Engineers (1 May 1866)
• Gold Medal presented by King of Württemberg (1867)
• Grand Prix Gold Medal presented by Emperor Napoleon III of France (1867)
• Albert Gold Medal (Society of Arts) – presented by HRH Prince of Wales (1872)
• President of the Iron and Steel Institute of Great Britain (1871 – 1873)
• Gold Cup and Howard Quinquennial Prize – Institution of Civil Engineers (1877)
• Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers (27 December 1877)
• Fellow of the Royal Society (1879)
• Honorary Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers (21 May 1889)
• Honorary Member of the Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders of Scotland (1891)

Other Memberships
• Member of the Royal Academy of Trade in Berlin
• Member of the Society for the Encouragement of National Industry of Paris
• Member of the Royal Society of British Architects
• Member of University College, London
• Member of the Society of Mechanical Engineers of England and America
Several Cities are named after Sir Henry Bessemer in the United States:
• Bessemer City, Gogebeo County, Michigan
• Bessemer City, Bessemer County, Alabama
• Bessemer City, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania
• Bessemer City, Botetourt County, Virginia
• Bessemer City, Natrona County, Wyoming
• Bessemer City, Caston County, North Carolina

References and Further Reading

Grace’s Guide to British Industrial History
Blog by Dr Susan Mossman on the Science Museum website
Science Museum Collection
Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining
Henry Bessemer has six portraits in the National Portrait Gallery
City, University of London blue plaque and tribute to Henry Bessemer

Sir Henry Bessemer in IOM3 archive
The Bessemer Process in IOM3 archive
British Library

Wikipedia

Contribution to Sustainable Development Goals

Sir Henry’s transformation of the efficiency and quality of steel production contributed greatly to improved resource efficiency and the many businesses that benefited created large scale employment. He was an enabler of decent work and economic growth on a grand scale.

SDG Targets 8.1; 8.2; 8.3

images courtesy of Paul Bessemer whose assistance in preparing this page is gratefully acknowledged