John Hughes

Two hundred years ago, John Hughes, one of Wales' least-known entrepreneurs, founded what is now the vast, steel-producing city of Donetsk in Ukraine. Having made his fortune with various investments and patents, in Wales and later in London, he was headhunted by the Russians, whose iron and steel industry was significantly behind the rest of Europe He set sail from Wales in 1870 with eight ships crammed with mining and iron-making equipment and more than one hundred workers and their families. One thing that I discovered during my research, which is quite staggering considering his achievements, is that this metallurgist, inventor, engineer, and businessman was semi-literate.