Hall–Héroult process
In 1886, Charles Martin Hall, a graduate of Oberlin College, discovered the process of smelting aluminium, almost simultaneously with Paul Héroult in France. He realized that by passing an electric current through a bath of cryolite and aluminium oxide, the then semi-rare metal aluminium remained as a byproduct. This discovery, now called the Hall–Héroult process, along with the Bayer process, are the dominant processes for production of aluminum from bauxite ore.