Abraham+Darby

Abraham Darby invented coke smelting which increased the speed of making steel Steel was much stronger than the iron used to support buildings because unlike iron steel takes much more force to bend - Abraham Darby: April 14, 1678- May 5 1717 - He was an active member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quaker), which is a christian movement founded by George Fox - He married Mary Sergeant and had ten kids, only four made it to adulthood.

Born in Wrens Nest, UK. He was the son of a farmer and a locksmith by trade. He got some of his inspiration from his great uncle who was able to use coke as a fuel for smelting but wasn't able to make it good in quality. Darby was apprenticed in Brimingham to Jonathan Freeth, a malt mill maker and fellow Quaker. Freeth encouraged Darby to be an active member in the Society of Friends, and he remained so all his life. In 1799 he married Mary Sergeant
 * Early Life:**


 * Later Life**: Later in his life he was s moving around because he was following the Quakers this brings him to a small community named Bristol where he joined with a number of fellow Quakers to form Bristol's Brass Work Company. Later he went to Holland where he learned how to make brass cooking pots because in Bristol almost all the members of the community had one but they were expensive because they had to be imported from Holland. He began producing brass pots, but these proved to be too expensive, so he decided to try casting iron pots instead. However the technical difficulties of casting iron pots were too great. A young Welsh boy named John Thomas and Abraham Darby solved the problem by using pure dry sand for the mould, with a special casting box and core. Using this casting method Darby could cast pots of sufficient thinness and lightness. Darby recieved a patent on his casting method in 1707.


 * The invention and why it is so important:** Using charcoal for smelting iron was beginning to become increasingly expensive major iron producers were constantly moving to sustain production. Instead of moving Abraham started to experiment trying to find an alternative fuel instead of using charcoal. He particularly fond of coke because he has handled it before and with certain adjustments it would be able to smelt iron much faster and cheaper with less impurities. The closest place to mine the best coal for coke is Shropshire, so it was to there that Darby transferred his business. A few months after the mine was operational they restored a blast furnace which was rebuilt to the specifications neccesary to smelt using coke as fuel the blast furnace was opened in 1711 and was a success mainly because the coal used was sulfer free to prevent explosions. This was just one step in modernizing the world because Abraham darby made a discovery that made smelting iron and eventually steel inexpensive and faster than using charcoal.


 * Death**: Abraham Darby died May 5th, 1717 at his house in madeley court from years of sickness and he was only 39 when he died.