Mark Firth

Mark Firth (25 April 1819 – 28 November 1880) was an English industrialist and philanthropist. Biography Firth was born in Sheffield, the son of Thomas Firth (1789–1850), of Pontefract, York, and Mary Loxley. He joined the crucible steel works of Sanderson Brothers where his father worked as head smelter, but left in 1842 to set up his own business with his brother, Thomas Jr. Their father joined them shortly afterwards, and in 1852 Thomas Firth & Sons had expanded into larger premises at the Norfolk Works in Savile Street, which had the largest rolling mill in Sheffield. The Firth's business expanded into the armaments market, installing two large steam hammers in 1863. In 1871, the company cast the thirty five ton "Woolwich Infant" gun. In 1875 they produced an eighty-ton gun.