- Dudley, Dud
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born 1599, England?died 1684, England?English ironmaster.He was an illegitimate son of Edward Sutton, the 9th Baron of Dudley, who recalled him from Oxford in 1619 to manage the family's ironworks in Staffordshire. He was the first to experiment with smelting iron ore in a coal-fired furnace. Previously, charcoal had been exclusively used for smelting iron, but it was becoming increasingly costly, and unpopular, with the depletion of England's forests for fuel. Dudley patented his innovation in 1621, but the poor quality of his metal limited its sale. Dudley's work culminated in Abraham Darby's coke-fired furnace in 1709.
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▪ English ironmasterborn 1599, England?died 1684, England?English ironmaster usually credited with having been the first to smelt iron ore with coke, which is a hard, foamlike mass of almost pure carbon made from bituminous coal.Charcoal, made from wood, had been exclusively used for smelting iron until Dudley began experimenting with coke, or, as he called it, “pit-coal.” Such experimentation had been encouraged by the English government, which was concerned about the rapid destruction of forests for fuel. Dudley obtained a patent for his innovation in 1621 and was soon producing a record seven tons of pig iron per week at the Hasco Bridge ironworks owned by his father, Edward Sutton, 5th Baron Dudley.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
