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Peter Onions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Peter Onions (1724 – 1798) was an English ironmaster and the inventor of an early puddling process used for the refining of pig iron into wrought iron.

Biography

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Onions was born in Broseley, Shropshire, later moving to Merthyr Tydfil in Wales. He married Elizabeth Guest, sister of John Guest, a founder of Guest, Keen and Nettlefold, which is today the British conglomerate GKN[1] In 1783, Onions received patent number 1370 for his invention.[2] Henry Cort later improved on Onion's process during the development of his puddling furnace.[3]

References

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  1. ^ "I knew that several of my ancestors…" (PDF). Newsletter of the Broseley Local History Society: 10. November 2010. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
  2. ^ Ashton, Thomas Southcliffe (1963). Iron and Steel in the Industrial Revolution. p. 87. Footnote to page 87
  3. ^ Hammond, J.L.; Hammond, Barbara (2005). The Rise of Modern Industry. Routledge. p. 139. ISBN 978-0-415-37996-0.