Edward Wilson Davis (May 8, 1888 – December 3, 1973) was an American engineer and inventor famous for pioneering early research into taconite.
Over the next four decades, Davis devised a process to crush the hard rock, separate the iron from the crushed rock using magnets, and roll the iron into pellets suitable for transport and use in a blast furnace.
[2] In the 1950s, Davis's research was used to create several taconite processing plants in northeast Minnesota.
[3] In addition to his taconite research, Davis was active in Minnesota politics and history.
He published an account of his research, Pioneering With Taconite, with the Minnesota Historical Society in 1964.