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Events/Invention · 1886

Hall and Heroult invent electrolytic aluminium smelting

Invention, 23 February 1886, United States.

What happened

Hall produced his first pieces of metallic aluminium on 23 February 1886 and filed his patent on 9 July 1886. Heroult filed in France on 23 April 1886. The process is known as Hall-Heroult.1,2

Why it matters

Both inventors worked independently, so the process carries both names.1,2

Story cards

Around the same time

  1. Charles Martin Hall born

    Charles Martin Hall born (date from Wikidata).3

  2. Paul Heroult born

    Paul Heroult born (date from Wikidata).4

  3. Hall-Heroult process

    Hall-Heroult process.5

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Where next

People

Discovered byCharles Martin HallCharles Martin Hall is part of this story: Hall and Heroult invent electrolytic aluminium smelting.1Discovered byPaul HeroultPaul Heroult is part of this story: Hall and Heroult invent electrolytic aluminium smelting.1

Events

An example ofBessemer announces his steelmaking processA metal-making method of 1886, as Bessemer's was for steel in 1856.1

Trade routes

An example ofGuinea bauxite to ChinaChina imported 125 Mt of bauxite in 2022, 56 per cent from Guinea.6

Sources

  1. Aluminum: common metal, uncommon past Science History Institute
  2. Oberlin (item Q988384), coordinate location P625 Wikidata
  3. Wikidata item Q443131 (Charles Martin Hall)
  4. Wikidata item Q730007 (Paul Heroult)
  5. Wikidata item Q898555 (Hall-Heroult process)
  6. 2022 Minerals Yearbook: Bauxite and Alumina U.S. Geological Survey

Pictures on this page: PSM V73 D317 Charles Martin Hall.png, Unknown author (Public domain); PaulHeroult.jpg, not recorded on the file page (Public domain).

From the Prospector Trails mining history dataset: each fact links to the source it was checked against. Figures are as the source gives them, in the money of their day. Not investment advice.

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