# Harry Brearley

- Link: https://kihulane.eu/glossary/harry-brearley
- Published: 2026-09-03T11:11:39+03:00
- Author: toomas

### Postitused, kus seda mõistet mainitakse:

 * [TÄNA AJALOOS, 13. august ⟩ Alustati külma sõja tuntuima sümboli ehk Berliini müüri ehitamist](https://kihulane.eu/arhiiv/216276)

English metallurgist (1871–1948)

[[

Monument to Harry Brearley at the former [Brown Firth Research Laboratories](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firth_Brown_Steels)
in [Sheffield](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheffield), England

**Harry Brearley** (18 February 1871 – 14 July 1948) was an English [metallurgist](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metallurgy),
credited with the discovery of "rustless steel" (later to be called "[stainless steel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stainless_steel)").
Based in [Sheffield](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheffield), he enabled affordable
[cutlery](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cutlery) for the masses, and an expansion
of the city's traditional cutlery trade.^([[1]](https://kihulane.eu/glossary/harry-brearley#cite_note-1))

## Life

Brearley was born on 18 February 1871 in [Sheffield](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheffield),
[England](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/England), the son of John Brearley, a steelworker,
and his wife, Jane Brearley ([née](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birth_name#Maiden_and_married_names)
Senior).^([[2]](https://kihulane.eu/glossary/harry-brearley#cite_note-ODNB-2)) He
left Woodside school at the age of twelve to enter his first employment as a labourer
in the [steelworks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steelworks) where his father worked,
later getting the post of general assistant in the company's chemical laboratory.
He married Helen Theresa Crank (1874–1955) on 23 October 1895.^([[2]](https://kihulane.eu/glossary/harry-brearley#cite_note-ODNB-2))

For several years, in addition to his laboratory work, he studied at home and later
in formal evening classes, to specialize in steel production techniques and associated
chemical analysis methods.

In his early thirties, Brearley had earned a reputation as an experienced professional
and for being very astute in the resolution of practical, industrial, metallurgical
problems. It was in 1908, when two of Sheffield's principal steelmaking companies
innovatively agreed to jointly finance a common research laboratory ([Brown Firth Laboratories](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firth_Brown_Steels))
that Harry Brearley was asked to lead the project.

After leaving Brown Firth, Brearley joined [Brown Bayley's Steel Works](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_Bayley_Steels),
also in Sheffield; he became a director of the firm in 1925.^([[3]](https://kihulane.eu/glossary/harry-brearley#cite_note-autogenerated1-3))

In 1941, Brearley created a charitable trust The Freshgate Trust Foundation, a grantmaking
charity operating in Sheffield and [South Yorkshire](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Yorkshire).
His aim was to provide a "Fresh Gate" or new opportunity to people like him born
into modest circumstances so that they may experience travel, education, the arts
and music. The foundation is still operating as a [registered charity](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charitable_organization)
awarding grants for charitable purposes in South Yorkshire.^([[4]](https://kihulane.eu/glossary/harry-brearley#cite_note-4))

Brearley died on 14 July 1948, at [Torquay](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torquay).
He was cremated at Efford Crematorium, Efford, near [Plymouth](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plymouth)
on 16 July 1948^([[2]](https://kihulane.eu/glossary/harry-brearley#cite_note-ODNB-2))
and his ashes were scattered in the Efford Crematorium Garden of Remembrance.^([[5]](https://kihulane.eu/glossary/harry-brearley#cite_note-5))

## Stainless steel

In the troubled years immediately before the [First World War](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_World_War),
arms manufacturing increased significantly in the UK, but practical problems were
encountered due to erosion (excessive wear) of the internal surfaces of gun barrels.
Brearley began to research new steels which could better resist the erosion caused
by high temperatures (rather than corrosion, as is often mentioned in this regard).
He began to examine the addition of [chromium](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromium)
to steel, which was known to raise the material's melting point, as compared to 
the standard [carbon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon) steels.

The research concentrated on quantifying the effects of varying the levels of [carbon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon)(
C, at concentrations around 0.2 weight %) and [chromium](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromium)(
Cr, in the range of 6 to 15 weight %).

### The accidental discovery

[[

Announcement of Brearley's stainless steel discovery as it appeared in the 1915 _
[New York Times](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Times)_.^([[6]](https://kihulane.eu/glossary/harry-brearley#cite_note-NYT-6))

In order to undertake [metallography](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metallography)
to study the [microstructure](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microstructure) of the
experimental alloys (the main factor responsible for a steel's mechanical properties),
it was necessary to [polish](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polishing) and [etch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_milling)
the metallic samples produced. For a carbon steel, a dilute solution of [nitric acid](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitric_acid)
in [alcohol](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethanol) is sufficient to produce the
required etching, but Brearley found that the new chromium steels were highly resistant
to chemical attack.

### Development

It was probably Harry Brearley's upbringing in Sheffield, a city famous for the 
manufacture of [cutlery](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cutlery) since the 16th century,
which led him to appreciate the potential of these new steels for applications not
only in high-temperature service, as originally envisioned, but also in the mass-
production of food-related applications such as cutlery, [saucepans](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saucepan)
and processing equipment etc. Up to that time carbon-steel knives were prone to 
unhygienic [rusting](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rust) if they were not frequently
polished and only expensive [sterling silver](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sterling_silver)
or [electroplated nickel silver](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electroplated_nickel_silver)(
EPNS) cutlery was generally available to avoid such problems. With this in mind 
Brearley extended his examinations to include tests with food acids such as [vinegar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinegar)
and [lemon juice](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemon_juice), with very promising
results.

Brearley initially called the new alloy "rustless steel"; the more [euphonic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euphony)"
stainless steel" was suggested by Ernest Stuart of R.F. Mosley's, a local cutlery
manufacturer at [Portland Works](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_Works), 
and eventually prevailed, although Mosley's used the "Rusnorstain" trademark for
many years. It is reported^([[7]](https://kihulane.eu/glossary/harry-brearley#cite_note-7))
that the first true stainless steel, a 0.24 wt% C, 12.8 wt% Cr ferrous [alloy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alloy),
was produced by Brearley in an electric [furnace](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_furnace)
on 13 August 1913. He was subsequently awarded the [Iron and Steel Institute](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_and_Steel_Institute)'
s [Bessemer Gold Medal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bessemer_Gold_Medal) in 1920.
^([[3]](https://kihulane.eu/glossary/harry-brearley#cite_note-autogenerated1-3))
The [American Society for Metals](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASM_International_(society))
gives the date for Brearley's creation of casting number 1008 (12.8% [chromium](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromium),
0.44% [manganese](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manganese), 0.2% [silicon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicon),
0.24% [carbon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon) and 85.32% [iron](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron))
as 20 August 1913.^([[8]](https://kihulane.eu/glossary/harry-brearley#cite_note-8))

Virtually all research projects into the further development of stainless steels
were interrupted by the [1914–18 War](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I),
but efforts were renewed in the 1920s. Brearley had left the Brown Firth Laboratories
in 1915, following disagreements regarding [patent](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patent)
rights, but the research continued under the direction of his successor, Dr [W. H. Hatfield](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Herbert_Hatfield).
It is Hatfield who is credited with the development, in 1924, of a stainless steel
which even today is probably the widest-used alloy of this type, the so-called "
[18/8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/18/8_stainless_steel)", which in addition to
chromium, includes [nickel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickel) (Ni) in its composition(
18wt% Cr, 8wt% Ni).

## Legacy

In 2013, in the Sheffield University Varsity Brewing Challenge, Sheffield University
named their beer, brewed by Thornbridge, Brearleys, to commemorate 100 years since
Harry Brearley invented stainless steel.^([[9]](https://kihulane.eu/glossary/harry-brearley#cite_note-9))

A 42 feet (13 m) [mural](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mural) of Brearley, marking
the 100th anniversary of his invention of stainless steel, was commissioned for 
the side of a building on [Howard Street, Sheffield](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Street,_Sheffield),
and was painted by the artist [Sarah Yates](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Yates)(
aka "Faunagraphic").^([[10]](https://kihulane.eu/glossary/harry-brearley#cite_note-SAS-10))

## Books

 * H. Brearley & F. Ibbotson (1902) _The Analysis of Steel-works Materials_
 * H. Brearley (1911) _The Heat Treatment of Tool Steel_
 * H. Brearley (1914) _The Case-Hardening of Steel_
 * H. Brearley (1918) _The Heat Treatment of Steel_
 * H. Brearley (1933) _Steel Makers_
 * H. Brearley (1941) _Knotted String_ (autobiography)

## See also

 * [List of people from Sheffield](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_from_Sheffield)
 * [Elwood Haynes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elwood_Haynes)
 * [Portland Works](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_Works)

## References

 1.  [↑](https://kihulane.eu/glossary/harry-brearley#cite_ref-1) ["Made in Great Britain, Series 1, Steel"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bpz4ks).
     BBC. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
 2.  [1](https://kihulane.eu/glossary/harry-brearley#cite_ref-ODNB_2-0) [2](https://kihulane.eu/glossary/harry-brearley#cite_ref-ODNB_2-1)
     [3](https://kihulane.eu/glossary/harry-brearley#cite_ref-ODNB_2-2) Oxford Dictionary
     of National Biography, accessed 2 April 2013
 3.  [1](https://kihulane.eu/glossary/harry-brearley#cite_ref-autogenerated1_3-0) [2](https://kihulane.eu/glossary/harry-brearley#cite_ref-autogenerated1_3-1)
     [Tilt Hammer – Steel City Founders – Harry Brearley](http://www.tilthammer.com/bio/brear.html)
     [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20061121041226/http://www.tilthammer.com/bio/brear.html)
     21 November 2006 at the [Wayback Machine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayback_Machine)
 4.  [↑](https://kihulane.eu/glossary/harry-brearley#cite_ref-4) ["_The Freshgate Trust Foundation, registered charity no. 221467_"](https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?regId=221467&subId=0).
     [Charity Commission for England and Wales](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charity_Commission_for_England_and_Wales).
 5.  [↑](https://kihulane.eu/glossary/harry-brearley#cite_ref-5) Confirmed in a letter
     dated 30 September 1994 from the City of Plymouth Cemeteries Manager to Dr Peter
     Beeley of Cookridge, Leeds
 6.  [↑](https://kihulane.eu/glossary/harry-brearley#cite_ref-NYT_6-0) "A non-rusting
     steel". _The New York Times_. 31 January 1915.
 7.  [↑](https://kihulane.eu/glossary/harry-brearley#cite_ref-7) ["The development of stainless steel"](https://web.archive.org/web/20050827005100/http://www.stainlesssteel.or.kr/english/stsinfo/develop.asp).
     Stainless Steel Club. Archived from [the original](http://www.stainlesssteel.or.kr/english/stsinfo/develop.asp)
     on 27 August 2005. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
 8.  [↑](https://kihulane.eu/glossary/harry-brearley#cite_ref-8) [_The History of Stainless Steel_](https://books.google.com/books?id=E30rCBeM8nkC&dq=Harry+Brearley+August+1913&pg=PA41),
     by Harold M. Cobb, (ASM International, 2010) p41
 9.  [↑](https://kihulane.eu/glossary/harry-brearley#cite_ref-9) ["Beer Wars – the Sheffield Varsity 'Brewing' Challenge"](https://siba.co.uk/2013/02/26/beer-wars-the-sheffield-varsity-brewing-challenge/).
     _SIBA - Society of Independent Brewers and Associates_. Retrieved 13 August 2026.
 10. [↑](https://kihulane.eu/glossary/harry-brearley#cite_ref-SAS_10-0) ["Harry Brearley"](http://streetartsheffield.com/gallery/harry-brearley).
     Street Art Sheffield. Retrieved 30 December 2018.

## External links

 * [Biography](http://www.tilthammer.com/bio/brear.html) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20061121041226/http://www.tilthammer.com/bio/brear.html)
   21 November 2006 at the [Wayback Machine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayback_Machine)
 * Archive.org, list of books by creator: ["Brearley, Harry, b. 1871](https://archive.org/search.php?query=creator%3A%22Brearley%2C+Harry%2C+b.+1871%22)"
 * [https://freshgate.org.uk](https://freshgate.org.uk)

|

[Authority control databases](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Authority_control) [⌊Edit this at Wikidata⌉](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q470651#identifiers)

 | 
| International |

 * [ISNI](https://isni.org/isni/0000000063063640)
 * [VIAF](https://viaf.org/viaf/5040492)
 * [GND](https://d-nb.info/gnd/1089205430)
 * [FAST](https://id.worldcat.org/fast/1809456)
 * [WorldCat](https://id.oclc.org/worldcat/entity/E39PBJgtb6FkrxmvtgMDqYhyh3)

 | 
| National |

 * [United States](https://id.loc.gov/authorities/n86856958)
 * [France](https://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb12524575z)
 * [BnF data](https://data.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb12524575z)
 * [Japan](https://id.ndl.go.jp/auth/ndlna/00549961)
 * [Italy](https://opac.sbn.it/nome/GEAV011407)
 * [Czech Republic](https://aleph.nkp.cz/F/?func=find-c&local_base=aut&ccl_term=ica=xx0204063&CON_LNG=ENG)
 * [Netherlands](http://data.bibliotheken.nl/id/thes/p146595483)
 * [Poland](https://dbn.bn.org.pl/descriptor-details/9810809050505606)
 * [Israel](https://www.nli.org.il/en/authorities/987007364911305171)

 | 
| Academics |

 * [CiNii](https://ci.nii.ac.jp/author/DA09155050?l=en)

 | 
| People |

 * [DDB](https://www.deutsche-digitale-bibliothek.de/person/gnd/1089205430)

 | 
| Other |

 * [IdRef](https://www.idref.fr/222222476)
 * [Open Library](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL177187A?mode=all)
 * [Yale LUX](https://lux.collections.yale.edu/view/person/551f97e2-6f1e-4844-81c1-121ca81d85d1)

 |

![](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?useformat=desktop&
type=1x1&usesul3=1)

allikas: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Brearley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Brearley)