September 4, 1926 – The Death of Julia Brainerd Hall

On September 4, 1926, Julia Brainerd Hall, who assisted her brother Charles Martin Hall in producing the first samples of man-made aluminum in 1886, died in her home.

Julia Brainerd Hall is noted primarily for her six-page “History of C. M. Hall’s Aluminum Invention.” The 1887 account of her brother’s success was that of an eyewitness, as she had – by many accounts – assisted his research.

Both siblings were graduates of Oberlin College, Julia Brainerd Hall in 1881 and C. M. Hall in 1885, and both studied chemistry. When Julia Brainerd Hall received her diploma she took over the running of the Hall family, because of their mother’s illness.

Caring for their six other siblings when their mother took ill put J. B. Hall in the perfect position to assist her brother when he graduated and continued his college experiments in the family’s woodshed, right next to the kitchen – Julia’s domain.

Julia Brainerd Hall’s role in Charles Martin Hall’s research [pdf] is debated, but some scholars indicate she consulted with him on both “scientific and technical matters,” while acting as “a scientifically astute, well-educated, and competent eyewitness.” What has been determined is that J. Hall “faithfully and minutely recorded the steps in the invention process” along with evidence that “could substantiate the date.” Meanwhile, she helped her brother seek financial backing.

Just eight months after his graduation, on February 23, 1886, Charles Martin Hall discovered a new method for producing aluminum. Hall used molten cryolite, the mineral sodium aluminum fluoride, as a nonaqueous solvent for aluminum oxide, which allowed him to produce metallic aluminum by electrolysis, using carbon electrodes.

Independently, Paul-Louis-Toussaint Héroult of France discovered the same process. In the resulting patent dispute between the two men, it was Julia Brainerd Hall’s scientific background and record keeping came to the rescue, her aforementioned history “clinch[ing] Hall’s victory” in the dispute.

In his 1911 acceptance speech for the Perkin Medal of the American Chemical Society, Hall did not credit his sister for her potential role in his discovery, termed the Hall-Héroult Process. Her assistance was instead noted in her obituary.

At 51 years of age, C. M. Hall died on December 27, 1914, and was followed by his Julia Brainerd Hall, aged 67, on September 4, 1926.