Industrial processes
1740: English crucible steel developed by Benjamin Huntsman (1704–1776).
1743: Sheffield plate, a layered combination of silver and copper, invented by Thomas Boulsover (1705–1788).
1746: The lead chamber process, for producing sulfuric acid in large quantities, invented by John Roebuck (1718–1794).
- c. 1760-c. 1840: Pioneers of the Industrial Revolution – Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806–1859); Abraham Darby I (1678–1717); Abraham Darby II (1711–1763); Abraham Darby III (1750–1789); Robert Forester Mushet (1811–1891).
1769: The water frame, a water-powered spinning frame, invented by Richard Arkwright (1732–1792).
- 1770: Coade stone, a high quality stoneware, created by Eleanor Coade (1733–1821).
1784–1789: Power loom developed by Edmund Cartwright (1743–1823).
1795: Hydraulic press invented by Joseph Bramah (1748–1814).
1820: The Rubber Masticator, a machine for recycling rubber, invented by Thomas Hancock (1786–1865).
1824: Portland cement patented by Joseph Aspdin (1778–1855).
1840: Electroplating process patented by George Elkington (1801–1865).
1843: Vulcanisation of rubber, a process for making natural rubber more durable, patented by Thomas Hancock (1786–1865).
1850: The Parkes process, for removing silver from lead during the production of bullion, invented by Alexander Parkes (1813–1890).
1850–1855: Steel production Bessemer process developed by Henry Bessemer (1813–1898).
1862: First man-made plastic – Nitrocellulose, branded Parkesine – invented by Alexander Parkes (1813–1890).
1912: Stainless steel invented by Harry Brearley (1871–1948).
1933: First industrially practical polythene discovered by accident in 1933 by Eric Fawcett and Reginald Gibson in Northwich.
1952: The float glass process, for the manufacture of high-quality flat glass, invented by Alastair Pilkington (1920–1995).
1950s: The Wilson Yarn Clearer developed by inventor Peter Wilson (dates not known).
2001: Self-cleaning glass is developed by Pilkington.