Stainless Steel: The Steel That Does Not Rust, Part I

One of the greatest advances in modern metallurgy was the discovery of a steel that does not rust, which occurred after research into high chromium steels began. French researchers began adding chromium or nickel to heat treated alloy steels during the 1880s and 1890s, while German researchers began combining chromium with nickel in the 1890s. This article recounts the early history of stainless steel.