Henry Clifton Sorby
Henry Clifton Sorby , was an English microscopist and geologist. His major contribution was the development of techniques for studying iron and steel with microscopes. This paved the way for the mass production of steel.
Sorby was born at Woodbourne, near Sheffield in Yorkshire, and attended Sheffield Collegiate School. He early on developed an interest in natural science. One of his first papers related to the excavation of valleys in Yorkshire. In 1847, when he was 21, his father died, leaving him a comfortable private income. He immediately established a scientific laboratory and workshop at his home. He subsequently dealt with the physical geography of former geological periods, with the wavestructure in certain stratified rocks, and the origin of slaty cleavage.
Source: Wikipedia