Charles Martin Hall

Member of the class of 1885, and one of our famous alumni.

Hall invented the electrolytic process of synthesizing aluminum. His patent (#400655) was granted in 1889, and with financial support he started what is now Alcoa, the world's largest producer of aluminum.

He's responsible for the common American spelling and derivative pronunciation of "aluminum", as he preferred the spelling proposed almost 20 years before the metal was isolated in the West. Hall's widely-read documentation of his process of producing aluminum ensured that the common American spelling use -um. His patent application, however, uses the traditional spelling "aluminium."

The Hall House and that statue in the Science Center are in commemoration of him.

He's on Facebook!

[edit] See also

• article at Wikipedia
• the Oberlin Heritage Center: A big chunk of the tour offered of the Jewett House deals with Hall and his discovery. There's also a Hall-themed walking tour available.