John Hughes (businessman)

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John James Hughes (1814, Merthyr Tydfil, UK — 1889, St. Petersburg, Russia) — British businessman, founder of a city of Donetsk that was named Yuzovka (Юзовка) ("Yuz" being a Russian or Ukrainian approximation of Hughes) after him until renamed in 1924.

His father was an engineer, head of one of the metal works in Methyr. He started his career under father's supervision. When he was 28, young Hughes acquired a shipyard; by the age of 36 he owned a foundry in Newport. By the end of 1850's he started as an engineer at metal-rolling factory in Millwoll and later became an executive director. In 1864 he designed a gun carriage for heavy cannons, that was used by British Navy and in some other European countries.

When Hughes was 55, he moved to Russia, and in 1869 acquired a piece of land to the north of Azov sea from Russian statesman Viktor Kochubey. Immediately he started to build metal works close to the river Kalmius at the site near the village named Alexandrovka. He also founded a "Novorussian society for coal, iron and rails production". First pig-iron was cast in 1872, the state of the art works had 8 furnaces and provided full production cycle. The land around the metal works quickly grew to become industrial and cultural center of the region. The population of the city founded by Hughes is now over 1 million.