Steel has been known to mankind for thousands of years but the cost of developing the metal was prohibitive to its widespread use in ancient times and throughout the Middle Ages. However, with the development of the Bessemer process in the mid 1800′s by Henry Bessemer, the costs of developing steel were more than slashed in half, allowing steel to eventually become one of the most ubiquitous and important metals in the world today [see also The Guide To The Biggest Companies In Every Major Commodity Sector].