Charles Martin Hall

Charles Martin Hall
Charles Martin Hall
BornDecember 6, 1863
Thompson, Ohio, US
DiedDecember 27, 1914(1914-12-27) (aged 51)
Daytona, Florida, US
OccupationEngineer
FamilyJulia Brainerd Hall (sister)
Engineering career
Significant advanceHall–Héroult process
AwardsPerkin Medal (1911)

Charles Martin Hall (December 6, 1863 – December 27, 1914) was an American inventor, businessman, and chemist. He is best known for his invention in 1886 of an inexpensive method for producing aluminum, which became the first metal to attain widespread use since the prehistoric discovery of iron. He was one of the founders of Alcoa,[1][2] along with Alfred E. Hunt; Hunt's partner at the Pittsburgh Testing Laboratory, George Hubbard Clapp; Hunt's chief chemist, W. S. Sample; Howard Lash, head of the Carbon Steel Company; Millard Hunsiker, sales manager for the Carbon Steel Company; and Robert Scott, a mill superintendent for the Carnegie Steel Company. Together they raised $20,000 to launch the Pittsburgh Reduction Company, which was later renamed Aluminum Company of America and then shortened to Alcoa.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Production was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Geller was invoked but never defined (see the help page).