Glossary · Term

Gilchrist–Thomas process

1879 · 19th century · Also known as Thomas process, basic Bessemer process

The Gilchrist–Thomas process is a method of making steel from phosphorus-rich iron ore, developed by the British cousins Sidney Gilchrist Thomas and Percy Gilchrist and made public in 1879. By lining the Bessemer converter with a basic material such as dolomite, it removed phosphorus from the molten iron. It made the phosphoric minette ores of Lorraine and Luxembourg usable and drove the rise of heavy industry there.

Gilchrist–Thomas process
Image: Rainer Halama · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Gilchrist–Thomas process. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/gilchrist-thomas-process
MLA
“Gilchrist–Thomas process.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/gilchrist-thomas-process. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Gilchrist–Thomas process.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/gilchrist-thomas-process.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Gilchrist–Thomas process’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/gilchrist-thomas-process (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻