Background
Charles Martin Hall was born on December 6, 1863 in Thompson, Ohio.
chemist inventor metallurgist researcher
Charles Martin Hall was born on December 6, 1863 in Thompson, Ohio.
In his student days at Oberlin College he became interested in research on aluminum, which was then available in limited quantities and at a price much too high for general industrial use.
Hall felt that an electrolytic method ought to produce larger amounts at a smaller cost, and he made these studies the subject of his undergraduate thesis. The experimental results were so promising that his father equipped a small shop for him at home so he might continue his research.
On February 23, 1886, less than a year after his graduation, Hall made the first small nuggets of aluminum by electrolysis of a solution of bauxite in a fused salt. These are now treasured as the "Crown of Jewels of the Aluminum Company of America. "
He had great difficulty in interesting anyone in this new metal at one dollar a pound, but finally, in 1888, Hall established contact with the Pittsburgh Reduction Company, which later became the Aluminum Company of America.
Hall served as a vice president of the company until his death.
In 1849 he married Sophronia Brooks.