Aluminium was once costlier than gold, with one pound priced at $550. French Emperor Napoleon III’s favourites used aluminium cutlery. One 1886 invention made in an Ohio woodshed, changed its fate

Today, aluminium is one of the most ubiquitous metals, used to make various objects like foils and food wraps to soda cans. It is the most abundant metal on earth and also one of the cheapest. But believe it or not, in the 19th century, the humble aluminium was more expensive than gold.

According to an article published in NPR (National Public Radio), although aluminium is the third most prevalent metal in the crust of the earth, it readily forms connections with other elements. This indicates that it is not a pure metal found in nature. After British chemist Sir Humphry Davy discovered aluminium in the early 1800s, scientists and tinkerers searched for a reliable way to separate it from everything that adhered to it for decades, but they were largely unsuccessful.

Once, it was so in demand that the then French emperor Napoleon III’s most important guests were provided aluminium cutlery, while the less worthy had to make do with silver. In 1884, the United States even added a six-pound aluminium pyramid to the top of the Washington monument to demonstrate its industrial might.


According to a report by Slate.com, in the mid-1800s, one pound of aluminium ingot sold for more than $550.

How Aluminium Fell From Grace

In 1886, young scientists operating independently on different continents simultaneously discovered the modern method of getting aluminium.

According to an article published on the Oberlin Heritage Center, two young men – one from the US and another from France – developed the modern method for extracting aluminium. In America, one Charles Martin Hall gave birth to aluminium's electrolytic extraction process in his family’s woodshed in 1886. In France, Paul Héroult was developing something similar.

This process, which is still in use today, dissolves alumina from bauxite in cryolite at 1,832 degrees Fahrenheit. Large amounts of electricity are sent through the molten liquid once it has been placed into a specially made vat. Aluminium metal condenses at the bottom of the vat as a result of the process.

This discovery made the use of aluminium for various purposes become rather common.

The cost of aluminium had dropped to $2 per pound by 1889. After being commercially refined for ten years, it fell to just fifty cents per pound.

How Aluminium Became The Mainstay Of Many Industries

In 1903, brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright were working against considerable technical challenges as they developed the aircraft that would eventually become known as the Wright Flyer. One crucial breakthrough came from Charles Taylor, the mechanic who worked closely with the Wright brothers. Taylor proposed using an aluminium-copper alloy to construct the engine block of their rudimentary four-cylinder gasoline engine. The material offered an important advantage: it could significantly reduce the engine’s weight without sacrificing the strength needed for the aircraft to function.

Robert van der Linden, a supervisory curator at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, explained to NPR that the Wright Flyer had very little margin for error. Because the aircraft was already operating close to the limits of what was technically possible at the time, reducing weight while retaining adequate strength was essential to getting it airborne.

The resulting engine weighed about 180 pounds, approximately 20 pounds less than the brothers had originally anticipated, largely because of the use of aluminium. That reduction proved crucial. The lighter engine performed better than expected and helped make the Wright brothers’ historic flight possible.

The aircraft itself was still constructed primarily from wood and fabric. However, aviation technology advanced rapidly over the following decades. As aircraft became faster and engineers demanded stronger, lighter structures, aluminium gradually emerged as a practical material for aircraft construction. By the late 1920s, its advantages had become increasingly apparent, and aluminium was being adopted for aircraft fuselages as well.

During World War II, Americans were encouraged to use their aluminium cooking pots and use aluminium foils instead of gum wrappers to assist with the war efforts.

In 1959, beer company Coors was the first firm to use aluminium drinking cans. Before, beverage cans used to be made from steel. It left a metallic taste in the beverages, as per NPR. The company’s CEO wanted a metal that won’t tamper with the beverage's flavour.

One invention (simultaneously occurring in two genius minds) was all that caused aluminium to fall steeply from grace. What was once one of the most expensive metals became extremely common and ridiculously cheap. Today, it costs just $1.46 per pound.