Inventor Benjamin Chew Tilghman issued the first sandblasting patent

For those new to the whole idea of blasting, sandblasting is a surface treatment method where abrasive media is directed under high pressure onto a workpiece to clean, shape, or prepare it. Examples of sandblasting applications are corrosion removal, smoothing surfaces, texturisation, and etching. It was first patented in 1870 by Benjamin Chew Tilghman, a Pennsylvanian inventor.

Tilghman had first seen the effect of wind abrasion on glass panes while fighting for the union army during the American Civil War; this served as the basis of his later sandblasting invention. After the war, Tilghman moved to London in the United Kingdom and started his sandblasting business. He later moved to the north of England, quickly becoming the sandblasting industry’s national hub due to the steel production there.