Albert Marsh (August 16, 1877 – September 17, 1944) was an American

metallurgist Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the ...

. In 1905 he co-invented the first

metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...

lic

alloy An alloy is a mixture of chemical elements of which in most cases at least one is a metal, metallic element, although it is also sometimes used for mixtures of elements; herein only metallic alloys are described. Metallic alloys often have prop ...

from which a high- resistance wire could be made that could be used as a durable and safe

heating element A heating element is a device used for conversion of electric energy into heat, consisting of a heating resistor and accessories. Heat is generated by the passage of electric current through a resistor through a process known as Joule heating. He ...

. While working at Hoskins Manufacturing, the company of chemist, electrical engineer, inventor and entrepreneur William Hoskins (1862–1934) the two experimented for several years until the alloy was perfected. The material was

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...

ed that year as

chromel Chromel is an alloy made of approximately 90% nickel and 10% chromium by weight that is used to make the positive conductors of ANSI Type E (chromel-constantan) and K (chromel- alumel) thermocouples. It can be used at temperatures up to in oxidizi ...

, later and still today marketed as

nichrome Nichrome (also known as NiCr, nickel-chromium or chromium-nickel) is a family of alloys of nickel and chromium (and occasionally iron) commonly used as resistance wire, heating elements in devices like toasters, electrical kettles and space he ...

. ; republished in ''hotwire: The Newsletter of the Toaster Museum Foundation'', vol. 3, no. 3, online edition. The piece is largely an interview of Hoskins. (And there actually is a Toaster Museum, backed by a related foundation. They take the history of toast, and electrical heating in general, quite seriously.) For this invention, Marsh was acclaimed as "father of the electrical heating industry.".

Early life

Marsh was born on August 16, 1877, in

Pontiac, Illinois Pontiac is a city in Livingston County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The population was 11,150 in the 2020 census. The 1984 movie '' Grandview, U.S.A.'' was set in Pontiac. History Settlement Pontiac was established on July ...

, the oldest of three children. The family moved to

Pana, Illinois Pana is a small town in Christian County, Illinois, United States. A small portion is in Shelby County. The population was 5,199 at the 2020 census. History The area around Pana was first organized as Stone Coal Precinct in 1845. The count ...

, in 1884. Marsh went to

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United States. Established in 1867, it is the f ...

. In 1901, Albert received his

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree in

chemical engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of the operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials ...

. The same year, he married Minnie E Hayward in

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

Career beginnings

While working with an electric storage

battery Battery or batterie most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source * Battery indicator, a device whic ...

and doing technical writing, he experimented with

nickel Nickel is a chemical element; it has symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive, but large pieces are slo ...

and

chromium Chromium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in Group 6 element, group 6. It is a steely-grey, Luster (mineralogy), lustrous, hard, and brittle transition metal. Chromium ...

alloys An alloy is a mixture of chemical elements of which in most cases at least one is a metallic element, although it is also sometimes used for mixtures of elements; herein only metallic alloys are described. Metallic alloys often have properties ...

in his spare time. In 1904, needing a better location to work on his wiring project and additional funding, he made a business arrangement with William Hoskins of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. Hoskins was with Mariner & Hoskins, a firm of consulting chemists. He hired Marsh at a small salary – while giving him permission to work on the alloy project in his spare time. When later formed as Hoskins Manufacturing Company, the business relocated to

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

. Together with his business partner William Hoskins, he also developed a new method of producing aluminum, which he patented in 1904. This method was based on the electrolytic reduction of aluminum oxide in a molten salt mixture. The technology patented by Marsh and Hoskins led to a new era in aluminum production. They melted a mixture of sodium chloride and potassium chloride in special electrolysis containers. This salt mixture served as a medium for the electrolytic reduction. The process took place at the electrodes, which consisted of aluminum oxide: At the anode, aluminum oxide was broken down into aluminum and oxygen. At the same time, liquid aluminum was deposited at the cathode. Marsh and Hoskins' method was not only more efficient than previous processes, but also enabled the production of high-purity aluminum. This aluminum found a wide range of applications, from the aviation industry to electrical cables and packaging materials.

Success

When perfected, the new alloy was 300 times stronger than other types at that time. Chromel is made of 80%

and 20%

(though other ratios are used for special purpose nichrome applications). The US patent was granted February 1906, in Marsh's name, and later sold to Hoskins Manufacturing. By Hoskins's own account, he was deeply involved in the experimentation process, and not simply a funder.

Toaster A toaster is a small electric appliance that uses radiant heat to brown sliced bread into toast, the color caused by the Maillard reaction. It typically consists of one or more slots into which bread is inserted, and heating elements, o ...

s, dental furnaces and chromel wire for

home appliance A home appliance, also referred to as a domestic appliance, an electric appliance or a household appliance, is a machine which assists in household functions such as cooking, cleaning and food preservation. The domestic application attached to ...

manufacturers were the first focus of the Hoskins company. The first two were unprofitable and were later dropped. The company concentrated on manufacturing the chromel wire. Marsh served as chief engineer and general manager of Hoskins Manufacturing Co. in Detroit. He was named president of the firm in 1915.

Awards

In 1936, Marsh was awarded the

John Price Wetherill Medal The John Price Wetherill Medal was an award of the Franklin Institute. It was established with a bequest given by the family of John Price Wetherill (1844–1906) on April 3, 1917. On June 10, 1925, the Board of Managers voted to create a silv ...

The Franklin Institute The Franklin Institute is a science museum and a center of science education and research in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is named after the American scientist and wikt:statesman, statesman Benjamin Franklin. It houses the Benjamin Franklin ...

for "significant and timely contribution to the science of automotive engineering" and "for outstanding discoveries in the physical sciences" in huranson. In 1941, the American Metals Congress bestowed upon Marsh with The Sauveur Award for outstanding metallurgical achievement.

References

External links

Albert Marsh, Inventor, Scientist
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marsh, Albert L. American inventors 1944 deaths People from Lake County, Illinois 1877 births People from Pontiac, Illinois People from Pana, Illinois