John F. Fritz (August 21, 1822 – February 13, 1913) was an American pioneer of iron and steel technologyexplorepahistory.com
John F. Fritz ngineer/ref>Sandra E. Duffy (2012
Fritz Lab: Not Just for Chicks
from Pennsylvania State University who has been referred to as the "Father of the U.S. Steel Industry". To celebrate his 80th birthday the

John Fritz Medal The John Fritz Medal has been awarded annually since 1902 by the American Association of Engineering Societies (AAES) for "outstanding scientific or industrial achievements". The medal was created for the 80th birthday of John Fritz, who lived betw ...

was established in 1902, with Fritz himself being the first recipient.

Life

Fritz was born August 21, 1822 in

Londonderry Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania Londonderry Township is a township in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,149 at the 2010 census. History In 1682, William Penn deeded 50,000 acres in what is now Londonderry Township to his relative John Fagg. It ...

, the eldest of seven children of George Fritz (1792–) and Mary Meharg (1799–)Fritz, John (1912) ''The Autobiography of John Fritz'' (Wiley) New YorkStudents of Prof. Tatu (2013
Steel and the Lehigh Valley
from

Lafayette College Lafayette College is a private liberal arts college in Easton, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter and other citizens in Easton, the college first held classes in 1832. The founders voted to name the college after General Laf ...

and at the age of 16 he was apprenticed as a

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such as gates, gr ...

.Journal of the Franklin Institute Volume 171, Issue 1, January 1911, Pages 97–98 Elliott Cresson Medal Awards: John Fritz, Esq. He was of both

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

and Scotch-Irish descent. He progressed to become a mechanic, working for the Norristown Iron Company, and in 1854 moved to the Cambria Iron Company, where he designed the first three-high rolling mill, a notable achievement. In 1860 he became General Superintendent and Chief Engineer of the Bethlehem Iron Works in

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Bethlehem is a city in Northampton and Lehigh Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, Bethlehem had a total population of 75,781. Of this, 55,639 were in Northampton County and 19, ...

. While there he was responsible for installing a

Bessemer Converter The Bessemer process was the first inexpensive industrial process for the mass production of steel from molten pig iron before the development of the open hearth furnace. The key principle is removal of impurities from the iron by oxidation w ...

and various developments in the company, staying until 1892, when he was 70. Fritz was President of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, President of the

American Institute of Mining Engineers The American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers (AIME) is a professional association for mining and metallurgy, with over 145,000 members. It was founded in 1871 by 22 mining engineers in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Uni ...

, Honorary Vice-President for life of the

Iron and Steel Institute The Iron and Steel Institute was an English association organized by the iron trade of the north of England. Its object was the discussion of practical and scientific questions connected with the manufacture of iron and steel. History The first mee ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, member of the

American Society of Civil Engineers American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

, Honorary member of the

American Iron and Steel Institute The American Iron and Steel Institute is an association of North American steel producers. With its predecessor organizations, is one of the oldest trade associations in the United States, dating back to 1855. It assumed its present form in 1908 ...

, and recipient of the

Bessemer Gold Medal The Bessemer Gold Medal is awarded annually by the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3) "for outstanding services to the steel industry, to the inventor or designer of any significant innovation in the process employed in the manufact ...

, the Elliott Cresson Gold Medal and the John Fritz Gold Medal of the United Engineering Societies.Appended documents to ''The Autobiography of John Fritz'' He was awarded honorary degrees from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then calle ...

and the

Stevens Institute of Technology Stevens Institute of Technology is a private research university in Hoboken, New Jersey. Founded in 1870, it is one of the oldest technological universities in the United States and was the first college in America solely dedicated to mechanical ...

. He died at his home in Bethlehem on February 13, 1913 at age 90

Selected publications

* John Fritz
''The Autobiography of John Fritz''
(New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1912). Available online throug
Beyond Steel: An Archive of Lehigh Valley Industry and Culture
:About John Fritz * Lance Metz, ''John Fritz: His Role in the Development of the American Iron and Steel Industry and His Legacy to the Bethlehem Community'' (Easton, PA: Center for Canal History and Technology, 1987).

References

External links

Finding Aid to The Autobiography of John Fritz, Holographic Manuscript
Special Collections, Linderman Library,

Lehigh University Lehigh University (LU) is a private research university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer and was originally affiliated with the Epi ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fritz, John 1822 births 1913 deaths People from Chester County, Pennsylvania Bethlehem Steel people American steel industry businesspeople Engineers from Pennsylvania American metallurgists American people of German descent Bessemer Gold Medal American blacksmiths John Fritz Medal recipients American people of Scotch-Irish descent 19th-century American businesspeople