Göran Fredrik Göransson
| Göran Fredrik Göransson | |
|---|---|
Portrait of Göransson from the book "Svenska industriens män"
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| Born |
20 January 1819 Gävle, Sweden |
| Died | 12 May 1900 (aged 81) Sandviken, Sweden |
| Burial place | Sandviken |
| Nationality | Swedish |
| Occupation |
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| Spouse(s) | Catharina Elisabeth Sehlberg (m. 1842) |
| Children | 6 |
| Parent(s) | Anders Petter Göransson (father) Maria Catharina Elfstrand (mother) |
Göran Fredrik Göransson (20 January 1819 – 12 May 1900) was a Swedish merchant, ironmaster and industrialist. He was the founder of the company Sandvikens Jernverks AB (now called Sandvik AB) and was the first person to implement the Bessemer process successfully on an industrial scale.
Göran Fredrik Göransson was born on 20 January 1819 in Gävle, Sweden, to Maria Catharina Elfstrand and Anders Petter Göransson. He was the oldest son in the family of three girls and four boys. He went to school in Gävle and also spent 18 months in Germany, France, England and the United States in order to acquire experience in conducting international business.
In 1841, Göransson became a partner in the firm Daniel Elfstrand & Co., his family business, and its director in 1856. In 1856, the company also acquired the iron-works in Högbo along with the Edske blast furnace. He traveled to England in 1857 to acquire a steam engine for the Edske furnace but after a change in business plans, bought one-fifth of Henry Bessemer's patent for the production of steel from pig-iron. Upon his return, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences gave him a sum of 50,000 Swedish crowns for financing steel production using the Bessemer process. The Bessemer method involved blasting a strong current of air through molten iron to burn off the carbon and other impurities. However, it proved difficult to keep the temperature high enough throughout the process. After initial difficulties, Göransson successfully managed to produce steel on an industrial scale using the new process on 18 July 1858.
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