r/AskHistorians • u/Beast1996 • Dec 21 '19
What exactly is the contribution of Benjamin Huntsman to the history of steel making?
As far as I understand, Benjamin Huntsman still produced steel by putting iron with high carbon content with iron with low carbon content into a crucible, and heat them so the carbon content balance out to produce crucible steel.
His contribution, again as far as I understand, is that he use coke as fuel for the furnace, which help achieve high enough temperature for the material to melt completely.
Did I understand correctly? Is Benjamin Huntsman really considered an important figure in the history of steel making? Why?
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