History of Titanium

Titanium was discovered in 1790 when Reverend William Gregor, an amateur geologist, identified the element in the black sand on the Cornish beaches in England. Five years later, an eminent German Chemist, Martin Heinrich Klaproth, recognized a dioxide of the same metal in rutile ore (TiO2, it is in your toothpaste and white paint) and called it “Titanium” after the Titans, mythical Greek Gods of enormous strength.

Over 100 years later, in 1910 American Chemist, M.A. Hunter, finally succeeded in extracting titanium metal from the ore. Hunter’s discovery marked the birth of the titanium industry. Today, the highest purity titanium sponge is produced by the Hunter Sodium Reduction method.

Our Titanium Sponge Granules originate from the Hunter process.