BROWN, SIR JOHN (1816-1896), English armour-plate manufacturer, was born at Sheffield on Dec. 6 1816, the son of a slater. He was apprenticed to a Sheffield firm who manufactured files and table cutlery. Brown invented in 1848 the conical steel spring buffer for railway wagons, and in 186o, after seeing the French ship "La Gloire" armoured with hammered plate, he de termined to attempt the production of armour for the British Navy by a rolling process. The experiment was successful, and led to admiralty orders for armour plate sufficient to protect about three-quarters of the navy. In 1856 Brown had started the Atlas works in Sheffield, which covered 3o acres and employed eventually more than 4,000 workmen. Besides supplying iron to the Sheffield steel trade, Brown himself successfully developed the Bessemer process. He died at Bromley, Kent, on Dec. 27, 1896.