Project Gutenberg 1996-01-01 Public domain in the USA. 424 Smiles, Samuel 1812 1904 Industrial Biography: Iron Workers and Tool Makers Iron and civilization -- Beginnings of the iron manufacturer in Britain -- Iron-smelting by pit-coal; Dud Dudley -- Andrew Yarranton -- Coalbrookdale Iron-works; The Darbys and Reynoldses -- Invention of cast-steel; Benjamin Huntsman -- The inventions of Henry Cort -- The Scotch iron manufacture; Dr. Roebuck; David Mushet -- Invention of the hot-blast; James Beaumont Neilson -- Mechanical inventions and inventors -- Joseph Bramah -- Henry Maudslay -- Joseph Clement -- Fox of Derby; Murray of Leeds; Roberts and Whitworth of Manchester -- James Nasmyth -- William Fairbairn. "Industrial Biography: Iron Workers and Tool Makers" by Samuel Smiles is a historical account written in the mid-19th century that celebrates the contributions of notable figures in the ironworking and tool-making industries. The book seeks to highlight the often-overlooked impact that these industrial workers have had on society, emphasizing their role in shaping modern industry and civilization. The opening of the text revolves around the fundamental importance of iron in the development of civilization, describing its revolutionary effect on early human societies. Smiles references historical anecdotes, such as Captain Cook’s experiences with South Sea Islanders, to illustrate the immense value placed on iron tools compared to primitive alternatives. He discusses the progression through various "ages" of human culture—the Stone, Bronze, and Iron ages—and sets the stage for an exploration of significant figures in the field of ironworking, hinting at a broader narrative that will include profiles of famous inventors and mechanics who transformed industries and improved everyday life. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 51.0 (10th to 12th grade). Somewhat difficult to read. en Industrial arts -- Biography Iron industry and trade -- Great Britain -- Biography T Text Category: Biographies Category: History - Modern (1750+) 774559 2025-08-01T05:20:14.380488 text/html 774380 774381 2025-01-01T05:27:04.207355 2023-10-01T05:09:57.502559 text/html text/html 379806 2025-08-01T05:20:23.973425 application/epub+zip 390632 2025-08-01T05:20:17.992422 application/epub+zip 357211 2025-08-01T05:20:16.623416 application/epub+zip 681358 2025-08-01T05:20:28.937393 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 647049 2025-08-01T05:20:23.115447 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 586731 2022-09-01T05:43:23.544803 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 745485 2025-08-01T05:20:13.951442 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 745284 2021-01-01T07:44:02 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 279047 2021-01-01T07:44:02 text/plain; charset=us-ascii application/zip 18348 2025-08-01T05:20:29.071364 application/rdf+xml 16851 2025-08-01T05:20:17.127415 image/jpeg 3784 2025-08-01T05:20:16.875435 image/jpeg 374750 2025-08-01T05:20:14.439432 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia