4000 BCE -- First Evidence of the Use of Iron
3000 BCE -- Use of Chromium by the Chinese to Make Weapons Resistant to Rust
1740 -- First Mass Production of Steel
Benjamin Huntsman is accreditted with the development of the crucible-casting method of steel production
1751 -- Nickel Discovered by Axel Fredrik
1797 -- Chromium Discovered by Nicolas-Louis Vauquelin
1822 -- Steel Alloy Made From Iron And Chromium By Michael Faraday
First prototype of steel
1856 -- The Bessemer Process
First way to rapidly and cheaply produce steel, however not commonly used until the late 1800's to early 1900's.
1860s -- Open Hearth Process
*German engineer, Karl Siemens created the Open Hearth Process which produced steel from iron in large shallow furnaces. The high temperatures burned off the impurities (such as carbon). The process made it possible for larger quantities of steel to be produced at a time, however the method itself was slower. By the 1900's it was replaced by the much more efficient Bessemer Process.
1871 -- "Weather Resistant" Alloy Patented
John T. Woods and John Clarke (create?) a corrosion-resistant alloy and patent it in Britain
1907 -- Electric Arc Furnace
Paul Heroult created the electric aric furnace (also known as the EAF) which conducted electrical currents through a given material, resulting in an exothermic oxidation and extremely high temperatures. Its initial purpose was for the creation of specialty steels, but by the mid 1900's it was used in the manufacturing of steel alloys. In the production, less energy is needed. Operations are inexpensive and can be started or stopped with little monetary setbacks. EAFs have been gradually increasing in favor over the years.
1960's -- Oxygen Steelmaking
The process involves oxygen furnaces blowing oxygen into large amounts of molten iron and scrap steel. This method separates oxygen from nitrogen and is now used in about 2/3 of global steel production. The efficiency of oxygen steelmaking made open hearth methods obsolete.