| 词条 | William Aspdin |
| 释义 |
| name = William Aspdin | image = William Aspdin Radford cyclopedia Volume 1.jpg | birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1815|9|23}} | birth_place = Leeds, England | death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1864|4|11|1815|9|23}} | death_place = Itzehoe, Holstein, Germany | residence = | nationality = | field = British mason, bricklayer and inventor of modern Portland cement | work_institutions = | alma_mater = | awards = }} William Aspdin (23 September 1815 – 11 April 1864) was an English cement manufacturer, and a pioneer of the Portland cement industry.[1] He is considered the inventor of "modern" Portland cement.[2][3]{{rp|184, 191}} He has also been termed "an incorrigible liar and swindler".[3]{{rp|191}} BiographyAspdin was born in Leeds, the second son of Joseph Aspdin, an English cement manufacturer.[2] Joseph Aspdin obtained a patent for "Portland cement" in 1824. His product was a fast-setting material usable only in mortars and stuccos. He joined his father's cement manufacturing firm in 1829, at the age of fourteen. In July 1841, Aspdin left the firm after a major disagreement with his father. Joseph then went into partnership with his elder son, James, posting a notice that Aspdin had left, and that the company would not be responsible for his debts, stating "I think it right to give notice that my late agent, William Aspdin, is not now in my employment, and that he is not authorised to receive any money, nor contract any debts on my behalf or on behalf of the new firm."[2] A marriage record from Royston Saint John the Baptist church in Barnsley, South Yorkshire of 28 December 1841{{cn|date=March 2019}} reports the marriage of William Aspdin and Jane Leadman of Barnsley. None of his family was present at the wedding.[3]{{rp|190}} In 1843, Aspdin set up a manufacturing plant at Rotherhithe, near London, where he was soon making a cement that caused a sensation among users in London.[4] William had discovered that a significantly different product, with much wider applications, could be made by modifying his father's cement formulation. By increasing the limestone content in the mixture, and burning it much harder, a slow-setting, high-strength product suitable for use in concrete could be obtained. This product was substantially more expensive to make, in terms of cost of extra limestone, cost of extra fuel, and difficult grinding of the hard clinker.[2] Although this product, referred to today as "modern" Portland cement, was entirely different mineralogically from that of his father, Aspdin did not take out a patent, or give it a new name. Instead he attempted to keep the details of his methods secret, sometimes claiming that the product was covered by his father's patent. Famously, he would emerge from his office when each newly loaded kiln was ready for firing, and scatter in handfuls of brightly coloured crystals over the raw mix, to give the impression that the special properties of his product were the result of an unidentified "magic ingredient".[2] However, in 1845, his rival Isaac Charles Johnson succeeded in creating a similar product for J. B. White & Co.'s nearby Swanscombe plant.[5] Aspdin contracted several partnerships to finance his operations. As "Maude, Jones & Aspdin", he acquired the Parker and Wyatt plant at Northfleet creek, Kent, and transferred his manufacturing operations there in 1846. He sold out his share of the Northfleet plant in 1852, and set up in Gateshead, County Durham, as "Aspdin, Ord & Co". In 1857, he sold out again, and moved to Germany. From 1860, he set up cement plants at Altona and Lagerdorf, these being the first plants to make modern Portland cement outside the UK.[6] He died at Itzehoe near Hamburg on 11 April 1864.[3]{{rp|203}} The Northfleet plant continued making Portland cement on a small scale as Robins & Co. Ltd. until it was taken over by APCM (Blue Circle) in 1900. It shut down shortly afterwards. The Gateshead plant was bought by I. C. Johnson, and continued in operation until 1911, when it too was bought by Blue Circle and shut down. Aspdin's finances were chaotic, to say the least, and he went bankrupt at least twice. At each relocation, he was pursued by angry creditors. His history of "financial missteps" and questionable business arrangements suggests that William may have been both inept and dishonest.[2] Courland documents evidence of both forgery and embezzlement and does not hesitate to identify him as a con man.[3]{{rp|191}} Aspdin made a number of claims which have since been shown to be false, including trading on his father's name, reputation, and patent. One of the most preposterous was William's claim that his father's cement was used by Marc Isambard Brunel in the creation of the Thames Tunnel in London.[3]{{rp|194–196}} Like his father, Aspdin had little chemical training, and his innovations were likely the result of luck.[2] His contribution (although he was unaware of its chemical significance) was to make the first cement containing alite as an active ingredient.[7] He is credited with launching the "modern" Portland cement industry.[2] References1. ^{{cite book|last1=Francis|first1=A. J.|title=The cement industry, 1796–1914 : a history|date=1978|publisher=David and Charles|location=Newton Abbot|isbn=0715373862}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Aspdin, William}}2. ^1 2 3 4 5 6 7 {{cite journal|last1=Rinde|first1=Meir|title=Hard-Headed Man|journal=Distillations|publisher=Chemical Heritage Foundation|date=2015|volume=1|issue=2|pages=36-37|url=https://www.sciencehistory.org/distillations/magazine/hard-headed-man|accessdate=26 March 2018}} 3. ^1 2 3 4 5 {{cite book|last1=Courland|first1=Robert|title=Concrete planet : the strange and fascinating story of the world's most common man-made material|date=2011|publisher=Prometheus Books|location=Amherst, N.Y.|isbn=978-1616144814|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qRcwAQAAQBAJ&pg=PT190|accessdate=28 August 2015}} 4. ^{{cite journal|last1=Johnson|first1=Alfred Sidney|title=One Hundred Years of Portland Cement|journal=American Carpenter and Builder|year=1911|volume=10|issue=5–6|pages=29–32|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rmFAAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA31|accessdate=28 August 2015}} 5. ^{{cite book|last1=Johnson|first1=Isaac Charles|title=Autobiography of Isaac Charles Johnson, Esq., J.P.: Being a Brief Account of the Gracious Dealings of God with Him, During a Period of Seventy-Five Years, Both in Providence and Grace; to Which Is Added a Continuation, by His Daughter, Up to the Time of His Death in His 101st Year|date=1912|publisher=Farncombe & Son|location=London}} 6. ^G Hägermann, Dokumente zur Entstehungsgeschichte des Portland Zement in Zement-Kalk-Gips, January 1970 7. ^{{cite book|editor-last1=Hewlett|editor-first1=Peter C.|title=Lea's chemistry of cement and concrete|date=2001|publisher=Butterworth-Heinemann|location=Oxford|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v1JVu4iifnMC&pg=PA8|isbn=0-340-56589-6|edition=4th|page=8}} 6 : 1815 births|1864 deaths|Businesspeople from Leeds|Cement|Concrete pioneers|English businesspeople |
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