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| Born | 17 December 1778 Penzance, Cornwall |
| Died | 29 May 1829 | Age 50 Geneva, Switzerland |
Humphry Davy 1808
Aluminium does not occur naturally in its purest form so it was not discovered until the 19th century with developments in chemistry and the advent of electricity. Aluminium was one of the newest metals to be discovered by humans.
Extracting from the Ore
Alum salts have been used for centuries. In 1808 Humphry Davy, an English chemist born in Penzance, Cornwall England, discovered that aluminium could be isolated by electrolytic reduction from alumina (aluminium oxide). The name Aluminium was eventually given by Davy replacing alumium.Davy was a pioneer in the field of electrolysis using the voltaic pile to split common compounds. Using this technique he isolated sodium and potassium in 1807, magnesium , barium and calcium in 1808. All with "-ium" ending signifying a metallic element.
Links
HistoryAluminium Org
