William Aspdin

Who was William Aspdin?

William Aspdin was an English cement manufacturer, and a pioneer of the Portland cement industry.

He was born in Leeds, second son of Joseph Aspdin. His father obtained a patent for "Portland cement" in 1824 and William joined his father's cement manufacturing firm in 1829. His father's product was a fast-setting material usable only in mortars and stuccos. During the next ten years, William evidently noticed that a significantly different product, with much wider applications, could be made by modifying the cement's formulation. By increasing the limestone content in the mixture, and burning it much harder, a slow-setting, high-strength product suitable for use in concrete could be obtained. This product was substantially more expensive to make, in terms of cost of extra limestone, cost of extra fuel, and difficult grinding of the hard clinker. It is unclear whether William actually made this product at his father's plant, but in July 1841 he left the firm after major disagreements with his father. Having moved to London, he returned briefly to Yorkshire in December 1842 to marry Jane Leadman of Barnsley. None of his family was present.