William Frishmuth (April 22, 1830–August 1, 1893) was a German-born American architect and metallurgist. William Frishmuth was born Johann Wilhelm Gottfried Frischmuth in 1830 in

Coburg Coburg ( , ) is a Town#Germany, town located on the Itz (river), Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Ernestine duchies, Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only ...

in the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (now Germany). Frishmuth studied with

Friedrich Wöhler Friedrich Wöhler Royal Society of London, FRS(For) HonFRSE (; 31 July 180023 September 1882) was a German chemist known for his work in both organic chemistry, organic and inorganic chemistry, being the first to isolate the chemical elements be ...

in Germany;

aluminum Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

is a metal not found in a pure state in nature, and the first patent for refining aluminum by electrolysis was granted to Wöhler. In 1855 Frishmuth settled in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

and became a US citizen. He established the Frishmuth

Foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

in Philadelphia. In 1876 his Philadelphia foundry produced the first authenticated aluminum castings made in America and is believed to be the only aluminum foundry in the US until the late 1880s. He used a chemical process, unlike the electrolytic processes used today. One of the first castings he produced was an engineer's transit. The foundry was declared an Historical Landmark in 1985 by the American Society for Metals (now ASM International). In 1861 Frishmuth became a special secret agent to the War Department at the request of

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

. On 5 November 1861, he received authority from President Lincoln, which was confirmed by Governor Curtin of Pennsylvania, to raise a cavalry regiment. In 1862 the regiment was raised for active service, and he was commissioned

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

of the 12th Pennsylvania Cavalry; he resigned his commission on April 20, 1862. Because Frishmuth had previously done plating work for the

Washington Monument The Washington Monument is an obelisk on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate George Washington, a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father of the United States, victorious commander-in-chief of the Continen ...

, in 1884 the Army Corps of Engineers asked Frishmuth to construct a small metal form for the top of the monument. The small pyramid was to be artistic, and function as the terminus of a

lightning rod A lightning rod or lightning conductor (British English) is a metal rod mounted on a structure and intended to protect the structure from a lightning strike. If lightning hits the structure, it is most likely to strike the rod and be conducted ...

. Frishmuth suggested aluminum, as its color would blend well with the granite, would not stain, would polish well, and could be engraved with inscriptions. In 1884 he cast the aluminum cap, which was the first architectural use of aluminum. Frishmuth needed 100 ounces (about 2.8 kg) of aluminum to produce the pyramid. At that time aluminum was $1.00 per avoirdupois

ounce The ounce () is any of several different units of mass, weight, or volume and is derived almost unchanged from the , an Ancient Roman unit of measurement. The avoirdupois ounce (exactly ) is avoirdupois pound; this is the United States ...

; for perspective, silver was $1.30 per troy ounce ($1.18 per avoirdupois ounce). Through his lifetime, Frishmuth received 12 patents, mostly on

electroplating Electroplating, also known as electrochemical deposition or electrodeposition, is a process for producing a metal coating on a solid substrate through the redox, reduction of cations of that metal by means of a direct current, direct electric cur ...

and production of aluminum. The American Foundry Society (AFS) Aluminum and Light Metals Division regularly presents the "Frishmuth Award" honoring the "Foundryman of the Year" in the aluminum and light metals foundry sector.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frishmuth, William 1830 births 1893 deaths German metallurgists Foundrymen People from Coburg Immigrants to the United States 19th-century American architects People associated with the Philadelphia Museum of Art People from Saxe-Coburg and Gotha