Josiah Marshall Heath

Josiah Marshall Heath (8 November 1790 – 28 January 1851) was an English metallurgist, businessman and naturalist, who invented the use of manganese to deoxidise steel. In India he learned the local steel-making processes, including wootz, but having failed to found a profitable steel mill there he returned to England and settled in Sheffield. His patent kick-started Sheffield's steel industry, but the poor wording of his patent caused competitors not to pay him royalties, and he died in poverty.