Titanium was first discovered in an impure form by Rev. William Gregor in England, 1791.   It was later given the name titanium (after the Titans, in Greek mythology, the sons of the sky and Earth gods) by a German chemist, Martin Kloproth, when he found a dioxide of the metal in rutile, ilmenite and in many other widely dispersed ores.  

In 1910, pure titanium was manufactured by M.A. Hunter, an American chemist.  Hunter was able to extract the metal from the ores and developed the process of mixing rutile ore (TiO₂ ) with chlorine and coke, then applying extreme heat, producing titanium tetrachloride (TiCl₄), which was further reduced with sodium to form titanium.  The hunter process successfully produced high quality titanium.

Dr. Wilhelm Kroll, in 1946, developed the process currently used for producing titanium commercially. The Kroll process reduces titanium tetrachloride (TiCl₄) with magnesium.   This multi-batch, high temperature process proves to be inefficient.   It drives the price of titanium to the point where its applications are restricted to the high-priced, niche markets.