Darby, Abraham (1677?-1717), a British metalworker and inventor, revolutionized the casting of iron. His greatest innovation was using coke instead of charcoal for smelting. He built bigger and more powerful blast furnaces at his ironworks in Coalbrookdale, Shropshire, England, and introduced a better method of casting iron, using sand instead of loam.
Darby was born in Dudley, West Midlands, England, probably in 1677 or 1678. After his apprenticeship in Birmingham, Darby went to work at a Bristol brassworks. He died on March 8, 1717.
