Abraham Darby

14 April 1678 – 8 March 1717

Abraham Darby I was an English ironmaster and Quaker who in 1709 became the first to smelt iron ore with coke instead of charcoal at his Coalbrookdale furnace in Shropshire. His breakthrough made cheap cast iron possible and is regarded as a founding step of the Industrial Revolution.

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Well-documented people whose lives overlapped with Abraham Darby.

Life events

Born at Wren's Nest, Woodsetton, near Dudley, England
14 April 1678

Abraham Darby was born on 14 April 1678 into a Quaker family; his father John Darby was a yeoman farmer and locksmith.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Birth ✓
Apprenticed to a malt-mill maker in Birmingham
c. 1693 – c. 1699

As a youth Darby was apprenticed to Jonathan Freeth, a fellow Quaker and maker of malt mills in Birmingham.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Education ✓
Married Mary Sergeant
1699

Darby married Mary Sergeant in 1699; the couple had several children, including Abraham Darby II who continued the family iron business.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Relationship ✓
Set up in business in Bristol and co-founded a brass works
c. 1702

Around 1702 Darby joined other Quaker businessmen in establishing the Bristol Brass Works Company at Baptist Mills, later branching into iron founding.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Career ✓
Patented a method of casting iron pots in sand
1707

In 1707 Darby obtained a patent for casting iron-bellied pots in sand moulds, enabling cheaper mass production of cast-iron cookware.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
Leased and rebuilt the old furnace at Coalbrookdale, Shropshire
1708

In 1708 Darby moved to Shropshire and took a lease on a derelict blast furnace at Coalbrookdale, refitting it for his ironmaking experiments.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Relocation ✓
First successfully smelted iron ore using coke as fuel
1709

In 1709 Darby succeeded in producing marketable pig iron in a coke-fired blast furnace, freeing iron production from its dependence on charcoal.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
Died at Madeley Court, Shropshire
8 March 1717

Abraham Darby died on 8 March 1717 at Madeley Court, aged 38, and was buried in the Quaker burial ground at Broseley.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Death ✓