I am researching 19th century patents that were associated with the
manufacture of malleable iron direct from the ore, and am having difficulty
finding details for some of the early Europeans, and some Americans, that were
involved. If anyone can provide information on the following, or can direct
me to relevant resources, I would be grateful:
1. A Mr. Hawkins, of England, supposedly received the first English patent, in
1836, for making puddled, fibrous iron direct from the ore by deoxidizing the
ore with carbon in closed vessels heated by a furnace. I am unable to find
Mr. Hawkins full name, the patent number, any details of the type of closed
vessels he used in the process, nor the heating arrangement.
2. Charles Sanderson received an English patent for his apparatus in 1839,
which was followed by a U.S. patent in 1841 for apparently the same
arrangement. I am unable to find the original English patent number.
3. The apparatus and 1856 English patent [no. 1679] of a Mr. Gurlt is
mentioned by William Howe in his 1904 treatise on The Metallurgy of Steel (p.
275), but Gurlt’s full name, and nationality, are not indicated. Does anyone
know?
4. The gas furnace heating process used by Englishman Frederick Yates ca. 1860
is described in John Percy’s 1864 Metallurgy: Iron & Steel (pp. 345-48), but
there is no indication given of any patent numbers and their dates. Were
patents actually issued for his process?
5. In the U.S., Isaac Rogers of Newark, NJ, is mentioned by Howe (1904: 282),
for a process/apparatus that was apparently patented in 1862. I am unable to
find any actual patent number.
6. Similarly, James Renton, also of Newark, apparently received a U.S. patent
on Dec. 23 of 1851 for his ore deoxidizing apparatus. I am unable to find
reference to the patent number.
7. And, M. S. Salter, also of Newark, received a patent on Nov. 20, 1849, for
his setup, which is described in a Scientific American article of Nov. 15,
1856. Again, no patent number is specified.
Thanks in advance for assistance on any of these items. Any responses may be
emailed to me directly if preferred: [log in to unmask]
Gordon Pollard
Anthropology Department
State University of New York
Plattsburgh
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