The following sections of this BookRags Literature Study Guide is offprint from Gale's For Students Series: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further Study, Compare & Contrast, What Do I Read Next?, For Further Study, and Sources.
(c)1998-2002; (c)2002 by Gale. Gale is an imprint of The Gale Group, Inc., a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Gale and Design and Thomson Learning are trademarks used herein under license.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction: "Social Concerns", "Thematic Overview", "Techniques", "Literary Precedents", "Key Questions", "Related Titles", "Adaptations", "Related Web Sites". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults: "About the Author", "Overview", "Setting", "Literary Qualities", "Social Sensitivity", "Topics for Discussion", "Ideas for Reports and Papers". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
All other sections in this Literature Study Guide are owned and copyrighted by BookRags, Inc.
Born in Lancaster, England, in 1740, Henry Cort was one of many individuals who were central to the development of the iron and steel industries before and during the Industrial Revolution.
From 1765 Cort developed an interest in iron while he was in the Royal Navy, where he was in charge of improving wrought-iron ordnance. During this time, he was able to accumulate funds needed to start his own business.
Iron working had been a laborious process that required hammering to shape and purify the metals. After Cort established a foundry at Fareham, England, he developed a method of creating iron bars with grooved rollers, a process he patented in 1783.
The following year, he patented a puddling process in which the carbon in the iron was separated by stirring molten pig iron in a reverberating furnace. The action of the air in the decarburization causes pure iron to form. Cort had used to his advantage the high-grade ores mined at Dannemara, near Uppsala, Sweden. After the slag was removed, the molten iron was then applied to Cort's grooved rollers.
Both inventions were little more than improvements over what already existed. Cort's original contribution came with the combination of the two processes, which made iron more readily available throughout Britain and quadrupled production in 20 years.
Although insightful in metallurgy, Cort had little success in business. He made a fateful mistake when he established a partnership with Samuel Jellicoe at Gosport, just south of Fareham. Jellicoe's father was a dishonest naval official who embezzled public funds for use in the partnership. Although Cort had nothing to do with the crime, he took the brunt of the blame for it. The British Admiralty forced Cort to repay the monies and denied him the rights to his patents. Cort's competitors made full use of the patents, leaving Cort with nothing but a small pension. Cort died in Hampstead, London, England, in 1800.