Inventor William Kelly

Who is the inventor William Kelly ?

The pneumatic process of steelmaking was an invention brought forth by this American ironmaster Kelly and an associate named Bessemer
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August 22, 1811 - February 11, 1888

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In the industrial age this novelty steel was more affordable and was well accepted by builders of bridges, buildings, and other foundations. The years previous to the invention of air infusion into molten metal steelworkers worked mostly with cast iron.

Kelly was born in Pittsburgh. His father owned a foundry. Upon graduating from Metallurgy studies at Western U in Pennsylvania he opts to go into business with his brother and brother in law. They form McShane and Kelly in a warehouse which later burns down.

In 1846 the two brothers purchase a iron working factory in Eddyville and move to Eddyville, Kentucky in 1847. This new company in the iron industry is renamed Kelly & Company and this is where William Kelly begins experimenting with the process of air boiling steel. Henry Bessemer was working on a similar process and beat Kelly to a patent. Another contender for this inventive method of blasting iron into steel was approached by Robert Forester Mushet.

By some accounts Kelly reports that insider information might have brought his secret into the labs of Bessemer.

Regardless, Kelly did receive patent no. 17, 628 in 1857 for an innovative iron industry product which he described as

 " Blowing blast of air, either hot or cold, up or through a mass of liquid iron, the oxygen in the air, combining with the carbon in the iron, causing a greatly increased heat and boiling commotion in the fluid mass and decarbonizing and refining the ore."

This patent was a joint ownership with Bessemer.

Bessemer Steel got the best of the steel industry market but the faith of both parties was not so great.

In 1871 Kelly's patent was renewed by the US Patent Office while the rights of ownership of the two others was rejected.

Kelly sold the patent rights in later years due to financial instabilities. He relocated to Louisville, Kentucky, and went on to work as an ax manufacturer, with interest in real estate and banking.