John Francis Hall
John Francis Hall (1854-1897) of William Jessop and Sons
1897 Obituary [1]
JOHN FRANCIS HALL, son of Mr. John Hall, of Norbury, Sheffield, was born on the 18th February, 1854.
After being educated in Sheffield, and at Neuwied, in Germany, he entered the works of Messrs. William Jessop & Sons, of Brightside, Sheffield, as a pupil in 1870. He remained with that firm for twenty years, during the last twelve of which hew as responsible for the general management of the works.
After mastering the details of the various branches of crucible steel-making, Mr. Hall turned his attention to steel castings as a substitute for iron in work connected with naval architecture. Propeller-blades, stern-posts, rudders, cranks, anchors and shells were cast in steel under his supervision with great success, and he produced an anchor which has been adopted by the British Government, by several foreign powers and by some of the largest ship-building firms.
Mr. Hall subsequently turned his attention to the development of nickel steel and visited America in 1890 with the object of opening a connection with the nickel mines of Canada, to supply the raw material, and of negotiating for patent rights in the United States. In addition to the anchor already referred to, he effected improvements in the manufacture of armour-plates, in steam-engine cranks, adjustable couplings for marine shafts, and in the treatment of steel generally.
Mr. Hall died at Norbury on the 27th May, 1897. He was an ardent sportsman, both with rod and gun, and in his youth was well known as an athlete. To the Institution of Naval Architects, of which he was a member, he contributed Papers on “Cast Steel as a Material for Crank-Shafts,” and “Flexible Crank- and Propeller-Shafting in lieu of Rigid Shafting for Marine Propulsion.”
He was elected a Member of this Institution on the 1st December, 1886.