Completely revised and updated version of "David Thomas: man of iron".
"As an adult, [David Thomas] was widely regarded as one of the foremost ironmasters in the United Kingdom. It was while employed at the Yniscedwyn Works, in Ystradgynlais in the Swansea Valley, that he devised the process which would advance the Industrial Revolution. On February 5, 1837, Thomas used a hot blast to smelt iron ore and anthracite coal. The result was an easy method to produce anthracite iron, which revolutionized industry in the Swansea Valley. This type of iron had been patented by Edward Martin of Morriston, Wales in 1804. In 1839 he relocated to Pennsylvania, where the owners of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company in Lehigh County wanted Thomas to build a furnace for the production of anthracite iron. The Lehigh Valley region, being rich in both anthracite coal and iron ore, was the perfect setting for Thomas's creation." [from Wikipedia]
Summary
Peter Williams takes us back to the days of mass emigration from Wales to the United States in mid-l9th century. This is the story of one immigrant who almost single handedly transformed the American iron industry by successfully smelting iron ore with anthracite. [from Amazon.com]