Coined by Humphry Davy from Latin 'alumen' (alum) — Americans dropped a syllable and the spelling war has raged since.
A chemical element (symbol Al, atomic number 13), a lightweight, silvery-white, soft metal that is the most abundant metallic element in the Earth's crust, used in construction, transportation, packaging, and electrical applications.
Coined by the English chemist Sir Humphry Davy, who initially proposed 'alumium' (1808), then 'aluminum' (1812). Other chemists subsequently standardized the spelling to 'aluminium' (1812) to match the '-ium' suffix standard for metallic elements (sodium, potassium, etc.). The base is Latin 'alūmen' (alum), a mineral salt used in dyeing
The spelling dispute between 'aluminium' (British) and 'aluminum' (American) has persisted for over two centuries. Davy himself used three different spellings: alumium, aluminum, and aluminium. The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry officially adopted 'aluminium' in 1990 but accepted 'aluminum' as an alternative in 1993, essentially throwing up its hands.