Chapter 6: Agriculture, Metal, and Mining
The Industrial Revolutions
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The History of Coal Mining
By the mid-1500s, woodlands needed for household firewood and iron production were depleting. There was an alternative to burning wood: You could burn coal instead. Coal mining is a very dangerous job, even today; back then, there were serious problems with digging too far in the earth for it. In 1812, a gas explosion at the Gateshead mine near Newcastle killed 92 men and boys during a shift change. Most of the 30 miners who survived were badly burned. A local clergyman decided he wasn't going to let the mine owner suppress the news of the disaster,. The news spread, and several scientific minds decided to try to address the problem. Sir Humphrey Dave
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