Short answers, pulled from the story.
William Aspdin entered the world on the 23rd of September 1815 in Leeds. He was the second son of Joseph Aspdin, a cement manufacturer who had secured a patent for Portland cement in 1824.
A major disagreement between father and son erupted in July 1841 when Joseph issued a public notice stating that William was no longer employed by the company. The notice declared that the new firm would not be responsible for any debts William incurred or contract debts on behalf of the partnership.
He modified his father's formulation by increasing the limestone content significantly and burning the mixture much hotter to yield a slow-setting product with high strength. This new substance proved suitable for use in concrete construction projects but was substantially more expensive to produce due to extra fuel costs.
Courts identified him as a con man because documents evidence forgery and embezzlement regarding his business practices alongside financial chaos from bankruptcies at least twice. His history of financial missteps suggests he may have been inept and dishonest while trading on his father's name and reputation repeatedly.
From 1860 he established cement plants at Altona and Lagerdorf which became the first plants to make modern Portland cement outside the UK. He died at Itzehoe near Hamburg on the 11th of April 1864.