1677-1717. English iron manufacturer who 
developed a process for smelting iron ore 
using coke instead of the more expensive 
charcoal. He employed the cheaper iron to 
cast strong thin pots for domestic use as 
well as the huge cylinders required by the 
new steam pumping-engines. In 1779 his 
grandson (also Abraham) constructed the 
world's first iron bridge, over the river 
Severn at Coalbrookdale.