Charles Martin Hall Collection, 1882-1985
| Oberlin College Archives
Administrative/Biographical History
Charles Martin Hall, chemist, manufacturer, and Oberlin College benefactor, was born December 6, 1863 in Thompson, Ohio. He was son of Rev. Heman Bassett Hall (1823-1911, A.B. 1847, Theology 1850, A.M. 1866) and Sophronia H. Brooks Hall (1827-1885, Lit. Course ,1850 but did not graduate). Hall had seven siblings: George Edward (A.B. 1872), Ellen Julia (Lit. Course), Louis Albert (died age 7), Emily Brooks (Lit. Course, 1881), Julia Brainerd (Lit. Course, 1881), Edith May (A.B. 1889) and Louie Alice (Lit. Course, 1892).
In 1873 the Hall family moved to Oberlin, Ohio, where Charles Martin Hall took his preparatory work in Oberlin High School. His high school education was supplemented by one year in the Oberlin Academy including lessons in the Conservatory of Music. He enrolled in Oberlin College in 1880, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1885. Oberlin College awarded him the honorary A.M. in 1893, and honorary L.L.D. in 1910. He was a member of the Oberlin College Board of Trustees from 1905 to 1914.
Hall was influenced by his college chemistry professor, Frank Fanning Jewett (1844-1926), who challenged and encouraged Hall in his ongoing scientific experiments. Jewett is popularly credited with turning Hall's attention to aluminum through a classroom challenge. However, this story appears to contain more myth than fact.
After graduation Hall continued the work begun with Jewett. Working in his Oberlin woodshed laboratory with encouragement from his older sister Julia Brainerd Hall (1859-1926), he pursued the idea that aluminum could be reduced from its ores through electrolysis. On February 23, 1886, Hall successfully electrolyzed alumina in a mixture of cryolite and aluminum fluoride, producing several small globules of aluminum metal. On July 9, 1886, he filed a patent for "The Process of Reducing Aluminum by Electrolysis."
In July 1888 his application was found to be in interference with the application filed April 23, 1886 by Paul L.T. Heroult (1863-1914) of France. Independently the two inventors made the same discovery at virtually the same time. Under United States patent law patent rights rested on proof of the date of discovery. Through evidence and testimony Hall was able to establish priority and was awarded patent rights in The United States.
Hall negotiated an option with the Cowles Electric Smelting and Aluminum Company, headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. Cowles manufactured and sold aluminum and copper alloys produced by the electric arc smelting process. The option allowed Hall to develop the commercial feasibility of his process and gave Cowles the chance to purchase his rights. Frustrated by an apparent lack of support, Hall left the Cowles Company in July 1888.
Through Romaine Cole, a sympathetic salesman at Cowles, Hall met the noted metallurgist Captain Alfred E. Hunt (1855-1899) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Hall and Cole produced a 22-page document on the advantages of the "Hall Process," which they presented to Hunt. On the basis of that document, Hunt became one of the principal investors in the Pittsburgh Reduction Company formed in 1888.
Hall continued his developmental process, now more favored by supportive backing and adequate electrical power. The pilot plant for the Pittsburgh Reduction Company opened in Pittsburgh in September 1888. Arthur Vining Davis (1867-1962) was hired to assist Hall. By Thanksgiving Day 1888 they succeeded in producing limited amounts of pure aluminum. The pilot plant gave way to new production facilities, based now on the internal resistive heating method, which capitalized on the increased availability of electricity. Plants were established in Niagara, New York and New Kensington, Pennsylvania. The Mellon Bank of Pittsburgh was a major investor in the expansion.
In 1891, the Pittsburgh Reduction Company filed suit against the Cowles Electric Smelting and Aluminum Company on the grounds of patent infringement. Judge William Howard Taft (1857-1930) ruled in favor of Hall and the originality of his invention in 1893. Cowles appealed the decision and filed a new motion on the basis of their ownership of technology provided in the patents of Charles Bradley, which appeared to anticipate the internal resistive heating method. In 1911, after lengthy proceedings Cowles was awarded damages for infringement by the Pittsburgh Reduction Company on portions of the Bradley Patents.
In 1907 the Pittsburgh Reduction Company was renamed the Aluminum Company of America, later shortened to ALCOA. The success of ALCOA following the Cowles settlement allowed Hall to return to his interest in music and art. These interests were manifested in his collection of oriental rugs and porcelain, and enjoyment of music. Hall also remained active in research and development, a passion that for him never ended. He filed several new patents for improvements in the production of aluminum, including one registered four years after his death. In 1911 he was awarded the prestigious Perkin Medal for outstanding achievement in applied chemistry. Hall died in Daytona, Florida on December 27, 1914.
Charles Martin Hall was a generous benefactor of Oberlin College. During his lifetime he made several direct gifts to the College relating to his personal interests such as the care of the campus and grounds. From his estate the college received over $10 million dollars for the endowment of Oberlin College, and left money for the erection of an auditorium in remembrance of his mother, Sophronia Brooks Hall. Others benefitted from his legacy as well, including Berea College, the American Missionary Association, and educational programs in Asia and the Balkans, including the Oberlin Shansi Memorial Association and the Harvard-Yenching Institute.
Forms of Material (links to similar genres) Administrative InformationThe Charles Martin Hall Collection was transferred under a deed of gift to the Oberlin College Archives from the corporate headquarters of ALCOA in August 1989. The deed of gift is signed by Roland M. Baumann on behalf of the Oberlin College Archives, and Norman J. Belt representing ALCOA. The collection was received in one lot of 10 record center cartons. The material came into the custody of the ALCOA Corporate Archives Library through a variety of sources. The bulk of the original Hall correspondence was presented to the Aluminum Company of America in 1936 by Louie A. Hall (1870-1944). The majority of the biographical items were incorporated into the collection as part of an organic vertical file.
In 1986 two cartons of records from the 1891-1903 litigation with the Cowles Electric Smelting and Aluminum Company were uncovered in storage. These records show the effects of latent storage, including a coating of soot, and many curled and crumbling items. The original order of these records has been disturbed many times, primarily when they were subpoenaed by the Government in the 1938 ALCOA monopoly suit. The records were disturbed to such an extent that envelopes no longer contained their original contents, and many of the documents were alienated. Two reels of microfilm were produced in 1986, including a portion of the court records.
The original order of the collection has been maintained to the extent possible, allowing only minimum rearrangement. One carton of separations contains envelopes, file covers, and wrappers that were removed to facilitate proper storage. No documentation has been separated.
For other material pertaining to Charles Martin Hall, the researcher is advised to consult the following sources: Papers of Oberlin College President Henry Churchill King (2/6), and the papers of presidential assistants, William Frederick Bohn (3/1) and Charles Whiting Williams (3/2); Treasurer's Office Records (7/1/5); Chemistry Department Records (9/10/1); Irving W. Metcalf Papers (30/9); George Whitfield Andrews Papers (30/54); and the Azariah Smith Root Papers (30/57). A complete copy of the Last Will and Testament is contained in the records of the Treasurer’s Office (7/1/4). Norman C. Craig gathered a large body of Hall research material (mostly duplicates) as part of the centenary of Hall's discovery in 1886, and they are to be found in the Norman C. Craig Papers (30/177). In 2008 Craig wrote a report on the restoration and relocation of the Hall plaque in Tappan Square.
For replicas of the first aluminum pellets Hall produced, see the Archives Museum Collection.
For more information please see http://dcollections.oberlin.edu/digital/collection/objects/id/531/rec/561.
The approximately 10 linear feet of Charles Martin Hall material consists of personal correspondence, 1882-1909; Hall patents, 1889-1918; litigation records, 1887-1909; laboratory notebooks, 1888-1912; and photographs and printed material 1891-1894. The collection is arranged in eight series.
The first series is comprised of biographical material compiled primarily by personnel in ALCOA's corporate headquarters. Due to continued interest in Hall the material covers a wide date span, ranging from 1889 to 1985. Materials include memorial statements, obituaries, last will and testament, and reminiscences gathered by Hall biographer Junius D. Edwards (1890-1957) during the 1950s. The later material consists of articles about Hall and items from Hall's 1976 induction into the National Inventor's Hall of Fame. The biographical sub-group provides useful documentation in understanding the life of Charles Martin Hall.
The personal correspondence written by Charles Martin Hall constitutes the most important record series. Spanning the period between 1882-1909, the correspondence chronicles Hall's life beginning with his efforts selling book subscriptions door-to-door, and continuing through his diagnosis of leukemia. Hall's letters are written primarily to his family, but include some written to business associates Alfred E. Hunt, and one letter to Arthur Vining Davis. The lack of continuity in the correspondence series underscores the fact that the series is not complete, as correspondence for some years is missing entirely.
Contained in the patent series is Hall's first patent as well as 19 other original patents granted to him between 1889 and 1918. The patents are prime examples of Hall's incessant efforts to continually improve and refine his process. Documents filed with the patents illustrate the process of filing for patent protection, and the negotiations involved in transferring assignment of patents to corporate ownership. A series of approximately 60 foreign patents provides examples of the nature of European patent protection in the late 19th century.
Patent litigation details efforts to protect the Hall patent and establish originality of invention. The first series consists of the records produced during the Heroult Interference case in 1887. The Heroult case was heard to establish priority of invention. The second series contains the records of the patent infringement trials between the Pittsburgh Reduction Company and the Cowles Electric Smelting and Aluminum Company from 1891 to 1903.
The bulk of the litigation records are the printed trial records, containing the complete stenographic report of the trials. Among the more enlightening sections of the printed record is the testimony given by Charles Martin Hall as well as members of his family and business associates such as Alfred E. Hunt and Arthur Vining Davis, and his college chemistry professor, Frank Fanning Jewett. The testimony offers insight into late 19th century metallurgy, manufacturing processes and technology, and the nature of business competition. The evidence presented during the litigation provides a rich source of background for understanding the electrolytic process.
The laboratory notebooks series contains several bound ledgers containing records of experiments conducted by the Pittsburgh Reduction Company from 1888 to 1913. The volumes were maintained in the production facilities and monitor the tests made to determine the purity and ductile strength of the metal. Several of the volumes record analysis of incoming ores, noting the grade, purity and percentage of metal present. The volumes are from both the Niagara and New Kensington plants.
The collection is rounded out by photographs, prints, and printed works. Approximately 80 photographic images, mainly prints, portray Charles Martin Hall, members of his family and their Oberlin residence as well as other miscellaneous scenes associated with Hall's life. Among the printed works is an 1894 edition of The Golden Censer which Hall sold as a young man during college.
The Charles Martin Hall Collection has been arranged into the following series and subseries:
Series I - Biographical
Series II - Correspondence
Subseries I - Original Correspondence
Subseries II - Other Writings
Subseries III - Transcriptions
Series III - Patents
Subseries I - United States Patents
Subseries II - Foreign Patents
Series IV - Heroult Interference Case
Series V – Pittsburgh Reduction Company vs. Cowles Electric Smelting and Aluminum Company
Subseries I - Correspondence
Subseries II - Evidence and Exhibits
Subseries III - Printed Record
Subseries IV - Miscellaneous Documents
Series VI – Laboratory Notebooks
Series VII – Prints and Photographs
Series VIII – Printed Works and Memorabilia
SERIES DESCRIPTIONS
Series I. Biographical, 1886-1985 (1 lin. foot.)
This series contains information about Charles Martin Hall and other Hall family members. Subjects include memorial tributes and obituary notices compiled from various sources. The memorial statements are followed by the last will and testament, which documents Hall's various philanthropic activities, and his important relationship with Oberlin College. Biographical reminiscences gathered by Junius D. Edwards include Edwards' correspondence with several Hall relatives, employees and colleagues. Hall's class letters, written from 1886 to 1914 as part of the Oberlin College Class of 1885 record contain much biographical material. The script for a 1951 `Cavalcade of America' play on the life of Hall, which starred Montgomery Clift, is part of this series. Material from Hall's 1976 induction into the National Inventor's Hall of Fame includes correspondence with several of Hall's nieces and nephews as well as Alfred M. Hunt, grandson of Alfred E. Hunt.
Series II. Correspondence, 1882-1913 (0.65 lin. ft.)
The correspondence series, consisting of three subseries, covers the period from 1882 to 1913. It represents only a fraction of the correspondence carried on by Hall during his lifetime. Correspondence from several years are missing entirely. Among the most important letters are those written to his brother George on February 23 and 26, 1886. These two letters describe the first successful use of the electrolytic process, and served as the key evidence in the 1887 Heroult interference proceedings. The second sub-series consists of other items written by Hall from 1884 to 1890. The third sub-series constitute transcriptions of family correspondence made in 1936.
Subseries I. Original Correspondence, 1882-1913 (0.3 lin. ft.)
This subseries contains the original correspondence written by Hall to family members from 1882 to 1909. Significant gaps in the correspondence exist for the years 1883-1885, 1890, 1892-1899, 1901, 1906-1908, and 1910-1914. The majority of the correspondence is written to his sister, Julia Brainerd Hall. The envelopes and letters themselves contain comments and some censoring done by Julia. Two key letters written by Charles to his brother George detailing the discovery are included here. The series also contains examples of Hall's business correspondence. Among the business correspondents are Arthur Vining Davis, David L. Gillespie and Alfred E. Hunt. A calendar of correspondence prepared in 1989 notes the date and recipient of each letter. The calendar was revised in 2005.
Subseries II. Other Writings by Hall, 1884-1913 (0.1 lin. ft.)
This subseries contain documents in Hall's hand, written from 1884 to 1890. Includes are descriptions of two of Hall's early inventions written in 1884. The key item is the original document written by Charles Martin Hall and Romaine Cole on the advantages of the "Hall Process." It was presented to potential investors to line up financing. (The document was encapsulated in mylar prior to transfer to the Oberlin College Archives.) A transcription of notebook entries in Hall's hand was apparently copied from another source in 1890. The notes transcribed date from 1888. The final item in the series is a business memo (photocopy) written by Hall in 1913.
Subseries III. Transcriptions, 1936, (0.25 lin. ft.)
The transcriptions contain the text of the original letters written by Hall to his family with the addition of several of the items appearing in subseries II. The letters to business associates are not included here. The transcriptions were prepared by Junius D. Edwards as part of the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of Hall's discovery.
Series III. Patents, 1889-1918 (0.8 lin. ft.)
The Patent series contains original patents granted to Hall in the United States and in other parts of the world. The patents are chronologically arranged by the date of approval rather than the date of filing, and span from 1889 to 1918. Included with the patents are agreements transferring ownership of patents to the Pittsburgh Reduction Company. The series also contains claim rejection letters.
Subseries I. Original Patents, 1887-1918 (0.4 lin. ft.)
Included here is a complete run of all the original patents granted to Hall, from 1889 to 1918. The only patents which are not original are 400,766, which has been retained by ALCOA, and 701,718, for which only a copy exists. The patents are arranged numerically by the patent number assigned on the date of approval. The series includes one folder of agreements transferring patents to The Pittsburgh Reduction Company in 1888, and a folder of claim rejections from 1894.
Subseries II. Foreign Patents, 1889-1903 (0.4 lin. ft.)
This subseries consists of patent agreements reached in foreign countries. These patents and their corresponding documentation are arranged alphabetically by country.
Series IV. Heroult Interference Case, 1887-1893 (0.25 lin. ft.)
The records in this series document the legal proceedings in the case to establish priority of the invention date. Items include the printed record with testimony offered by Hall, his sister Julia, his father Heman, and his Oberlin professor, Frank Fanning Jewett. A copy of Heroult's patent in French is included.
Series V. Pittsburgh Reduction Company vs. Cowles Electric Smelting and Aluminum Company, 1889-1909 (4.6 lin. ft.)
Court records and documentation produced during patent infringement litigation between 1891 and 1903 comprise this series. Quantity-wise, the bulk of the collection is contained here. The majority of the records pertain to the initial case argued before Judge William Howard Taft between 1891 and 1893. The records of subsequent appeals, which ended in 1903 are sporadic.
Subseries I. Correspondence, 1890-1909 (0.4 lin. ft.)
The correspondence series, which is a fascinating record of the development of the litigation, is arranged chronologically. It covers the date span from 1890 to 1909, with a break in continuity from 1898 to 1904. The letters from 1890 to 1898 include several letters written by Charles Martin Hall as well as the chemist Winfield S. Sample and lawyers from both the complainant and defendant. The correspondence from 1904 to 1909 represents the settlement of the case and primarily consists of routine letters of accounting and audit reports detailing the reparations owed to the Cowles Company.
Subseries II. Evidence and Exhibits, 1887-1894 (0.4 lin. ft.)
Materials in this subseries consist of key items entered in the trial or exhibited as evidence during the initial hearings. Among the items are various agreements made between members of the Pittsburgh Reduction Company and the Cowles Company, which give evidence of the impending litigation. Affidavits include letters from John S. Sellon of the English Metals Reduction Syndicate Ltd., and M.L. Sperry of the Scovill Manufacturing Company, attesting to the increased availability of Aluminum due to the Pittsburgh Reduction Company. One of the more interesting items is a series of reports sent to Alfred E. Hunt by a private detective who observed the Cowles Company operations in 1891. The remainder of the series consists of printed copies of various patents.
Subseries III. Miscellaneous Documents, 1891-1897 (0.8 lin. ft.)
This records series, consisting of useful odds and ends that were alienated from established files, were maintained in this fashion. The documents constitute a wide range of material, from unlabeled stenographic records reproduced in the printed record, to unfiled motions and notes taken by the complainant's lawyers. Two bound volumes constitute miscellaneous documents such as a translated segment of Elektro-Metallurgie, and various legal agreements. The volumes were apparently the property of Alfred E. Hunt. The final folder in this series contains evidence of the empty envelopes and jackets encountered during the processing of the collection.
Subseries IV. Printed Record, 1891-1893 (2.9 lin. ft.)
Quantity-wise, this series of printed records of the trial constitute the bulk of the collection. An apparently complete record of the proceedings of the initial case (1891-1893) is present, as are some documents from the later appeals. The printed record includes affidavits, stenographic reports of arguments, and testimony given by numerous specialists and character witnesses. The records provide extensive documentation of Charles Martin Hall's testimony and is complete with cross-examinations. The records frequently duplicate one another and exist in multiple copy and format sizes. Some of the records overlap due to the way in which they were assembled during the course of the trial. In the case of the Defendant's Record, the personal copy belonging to Hall has been retained because it bears annotation in the margins, although it is not a complete volume. Purely duplicate works have been removed to the end of the collection for purposes of storage.
Series VI. Laboratory Notebooks, 1888-1912 (1.25 lin. ft.)
This series consists of bound ledger-style volumes and notebooks kept by the Pittsburgh Reduction Company at their production works in Niagara, New York, and New Kensington, Pennsylvania. The volumes contain the results of laboratory analysis and testing. Several of the volumes detail compositional analyses of the percentage of ores and their purity. Other volumes contain specific tests, such as tensile strength of Aluminum wire. The volumes date from the beginning of the Pittsburgh Reduction Company, in 1888 and continue through 1913.
Series VII. Prints and Photographs, 1885-1953 (0.25 linear feet)
Eighty-four photographs and prints make up this sub-group. With the exception of two original photographs of Charles Martin Hall, ca. 1885, the bulk of the images are 8x10” prints derived from other sources. Subjects include Charles Martin Hall, members of his family, the Hall home in Oberlin, Ohio, as well as his residence in Florida. Several prints of monuments erected in honor of Hall are collected here, including the statue cast by Guiseppe Morretti, which resides at Oberlin College and the monument erected near his birth site in Thompson, Ohio. The prints include one engraving by Julia Gridley Severance based on a photograph of Hall, and a print by Johnston and Johnston, Inc., also of Hall.
Series VIII. Printed Works and Memorabilia, 1890-1979 (0.4 lin. ft.)
Copies of two European studies on electrochemistry, Chemischen Technologie, (1890) by Dr. Ferdinand Fischer, and Elektro-Metallurgie, (1891) by Dr. W. Borchers are part of this series. Translations from these works were excerpted and used as testimony in the Cowles litigation. Among the memorabilia is an edition of John McGovern's The Golden Censer, or The Duties of Today and The Hopes of the Future, (Union Publishing House, Chicago, 1894) Hall makes reference to selling this book door-to-door in his 1882 correspondence. A copy of an insurance policy covering the shipment of several of Hall's oriental rugs to Oberlin from Niagara Falls in 1913 is located here along with a 1978-79 Allen Memorial Art Museum Bulletin about oriental rugs. Other memorabilia includes railroad schedules from the Erie Railway and the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad dated 1890, and advertising cards made of Aluminum.