8. Henry Bessemer made the manufacturing of steel practical and affordable
Before Henry Bessemer developed the technique of injecting air into molten pig iron, removing impurities and creating steel in a relatively inexpensive manner, steel was expensive and of inconsistent quality. His developments made Sheffield, England a major steel producing center, and they were adopted by steel makers around the world, allowing affordable steel to become available to railroads, shipbuilders, and the engineers and architects who built the skyscrapers which dominated the skylines of cities. Bessemer was also a prolific inventor who held over 100 patents in the areas of steel, glass, iron, and food processing, including a means of removing sugar from sugar cane through the use of a screw device.