Adapted from an image by Christian Albrecht Jensen (public domain), via Wikimedia Commons.
1777–1851
Hans Christian Ørsted
Discovered aluminium in 1825.
Element
13AlAluminium
1825
In 1825 Hans Christian Ørsted, in Copenhagen, made the first aluminium, still impure, by heating aluminium chloride with potassium. Friedrich Wöhler improved the method two years later, but the metal stayed dearer than silver for decades.
Keep exploring
Where the dates and stories on this page come from; each event on the timeline links to its own source.
- Hans Christian ØrstedEncyclopaedia Britannica
- AluminiumRoyal Society of Chemistry
- Hans Christian ØrstedWikipedia