Born in Charlton, Hertfordshire, England on January 19, 1813, Sir Henry Bessemer was the son of an engineer who was a French immigrant. Sir Henry's inventiveness and keen business sense led him to a life of fame and wealth.

At an early age, he showed an interest in inventing things. His involvement with steel production began in the 1850s, during the Crimean War, when he experimented with new types of cannon projectiles. His most significant innovation at the time was a spinning projectile. The spinning motion helped stabilize the trajectory of the object. Ignored by the British military, Bessemer took his spinning projectile idea to France, where it was better received. The main problem was that the projectile tended to explode before leaving the cannon chamber. Bessemer needed a higher-strength material for the cannons.

Steel was scarce for there was no efficient method of removing carbon from iron ore to...