Antal Kerpely

* Kürtős, 5 February 1837 – † Bánya Selmec, 22 July 1907 / smelting engineer, academic teacher, corresponding member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (1877) ; ; He studied at the Bánya Selmec Academy. From 1862 he was an engineer at the Anina (now Stájerlakanina) iron mine, in 1864 he was a chemist at the paraffin factory in Bánya Oravica, and in 1865 he was an engineer at the Bánya Ruska smelter. In that year he patented his process for purifying pig iron from sulphur, phosphorus and copper, which he implemented in practice in Saxony. In 1867 he was assistant director of the Kisgaram ironworks, in 1868 he was commissioned to build the Pusztakalán ironworks, and from 1869 he was head of the department of iron and metallurgy organized for him at the Academy in Selmecbánya. He introduced the science of firing and the installation of ironworks as an independent new subject. His literary work earned him world fame. In 1880 he patented the production process of lime and magnesite-bonded bricks, and in 1884 his new system of double regenerative stirring furnace. In 1881 he became the central director of the state ironworks. ; The modernization of neglected Hungarian ironworks and ironworks is linked to his name. He did pioneering work in the field of metallurgical literature documentation in the Berichte über die Fortschritte der Eisenhüttentechnik. with the publication of his periodical (29 volumes in total, Leipzig, 1866–1896). He introduced regular metallurgical study trips at the academy and emphasized the importance of laboratory work. In our country, he performed the first microscopic metal examinations and edited the Mining and Metallurgical Journals for ten years. The National Hungarian Mining and Metallurgical Association established the Kerpely Antal Memorial Medal in 1967, which is awarded every year to a mining or smelting engineer who has achieved significant achievement. Nine of his children lived to adulthood. One of his sons, Antal Kerpely Jr. (Ruszkabánya, September 27, 1866 – Vienna, July 23, 1917) was also a smelting engineer and graduated from the Academy in Selmecbánya. Among his many inventions, the gas generating device with a rotating grate named after him is widespread throughout the world. Another son, Kálmán Kerpely (Oravicabánya, October 11, 1864 – Budapest, June 24, 1940) was a plant grower, university professor, and corresponding member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. ; ; His main works: ; Practical and Theoretical Handbook of Iron Metallurgy I–II., 1873–1874, ; Die Anlage und Einrichtung der Eisenhütten (in booklets), 1873–1884, ; Magyarország varskóvei és varterményei…, 1877, ; The Relationships Between the Chemical Composition and Hardness of Iron, 1878, ; The Future of the Hungarian Iron Industry, 1884