#oop this is a long one

So, the history of the word aluminum (American spelling, since I’m American) is pretty boring. Sir Humphry Davy (If you think you have a bad name…) coined it himself in 1812, from aluma, the name for what we now call aluminum oxide (from alum, meaning, more less, bitter salt).

The interesting part comes in with the pronunciation. Americans say aluminum. English people say aluminium. Why?

The word, with the aluminum spelling, was premiered in Chemical Philosophy, a book by Davy, in 1812. But, then, that same year, someone reviewing Davy’s book anonymously objected to the spelling, proposing a new one, so that the new chemical would match other chemicals, like potassium and ammonium.

Aluminium, for so we shall take the liberty of writing the word, in preference to aluminum, which has a less classical sound.

This new spelling took off, and by now aluminium is by far the more common spelling of the word.

But in America, the aluminum spelling remains strong, thanks largely in part to Charles Martin Hall. Hall invented a much quicker and easier way of producing aluminum in 1884. While Hall preferred the aluminium spelling, in advertisements he misspelled it aluminum, and inadvertently popularized the spelling throughout America.

Now, while almost the entire English-speaking world says aluminium because of one guy’s book review, America still says aluminum because of one guy’s fuckup.

Apropo of nothing, Charles Martin Hall was kind of a looker, if you’re into that sort of thing.