Edward Riley died at his residence at Marlow Bridge, on September 12th, 1914, at the advanced age of 88 years.
He was educated at King’s College, and later at the Putney Civil Engineering College (which has long ceased to exist). He subsequently studied at the Laboratory of the Board of Health under Dr. Lyon Playfair (afterwards Lord Playfair), and became Dr. Playfair’s assistant at the Laboratory of the Museum of Practical Geology in Jermyn Street, where he remained until 1853. At that date, on
the recommendation of Sir Henry de la Beche, Director of the Geological Survey of England, he was appointed chemist to the Dowlais Ironworks in South Wales, and it was there that he carried out the first experiments on the Bessemer process in 1857.
In 1859 Mr. Riley resigned his position at Dowlais and set up in practice as a consulting and analytical chemist in Oxford Court, London, where he did the greater part of the analytical work in connection with the development of the Bessemer process for Mr. Henry Bessemer, who had started works in Sheffield as the result of the preliminary experiments at Dowlais. About this time also Mr. Riley was engaged to investigate the large titaniferous iron-ore deposits of Norway, and subsequently spent several years in Leeds erecting special furnaces and otherwise experimenting on the treatment of the ores.
On the conclusion of the experiments he left Leeds and returned to London. In 1869 he removed his laboratory to City Road, E.C., where under the style of Edward Riley and Harbord the firm still practise as consulting metallurgists, though Mr. Riley retired from active participation in the business about four years previous to his death. In the early eighties Mr. Riley conducted a series of experiments on basic linings, and later he became intimately associated with the working of the Thomas and Gilchrist basic process. The Bessemer Gold Medal of the Iron and Steel Institute was awarded to Mr. Riley a few months before his death in recognition of his great services to the metallurgy of iron and steel.
Mr. Riley was an original Member of Council of the Institution, and held the office of Vice-President for the period from 1900 to 1906. On his retirement from the Vice-Presidency, he was elected an Honorary Member of the Institution.
Vol. 23, Trans I.M.M., 1913-14, pp.527-8
