William Herbert Hatfield

Dr William Herbert Hatfield FRS (1882-1943-10-16) was a metallurgist who contributed to the development of stainless steel.

Early life

Hatfield studied metallurgy at University College, Sheffield. In 1902 he won the Mappin Medal and in 1913 was awarded the degree of Doctor of Metallurgy. [cite web |url= http://www.jstor.org/pss/768852|title=William Herbert Hatfield. 1882-1943|accessdate=2008-04-27 |format= |work=Obituary Notices of Fellows of the Royal Society, Vol. 4, No. 13 (Nov., 1944), pp. 617-627]

Career

Hatfield was appointed Director of the Firth-Brown Research Laboratories in Sheffield in 1916 (succeeding Harry Brearley and continuing Brearley's work on stainless steel), and later joined the Board of Messrs Thomas Firth and John Brown Limited.

Hatfield is credited with the invention in 1924 of 18/8 stainless steel (18% chromium, 8%nickel); he also invented 18/8 stainless with titanium added, now known as 321. [cite web |url=http://www.fila-sa.com/historique_en.htm|title= The stainless steel advantage |accessdate=2008-04-27 |format= |work=Fila-sa.com; Our Know How : Stainless Steel]

He authored a variety of technical papers on metallurgy, with particular reference to rust, acid and heat-resistant steels and cast iron. [cite web |url= http://hatfield-memorial-lecture.group.shef.ac.uk |title= The Hatfield Memorial Lecture |accessdate=2008-04-27 |format= |work=University of Sheffield]

There is an Annual memorial lecture held in December each year at Sheffield University, called the "Hatfield Memorial Lecture" funded by a Trust set up in 1944. The lecture subject is related to metallurgy. [ [http://hatfield-memorial-lecture.group.shef.ac.uk/ The Hatfield Memorial Lecture ] at hatfield-memorial-lecture.group.shef.ac.uk]

References