The U.S. steel industry began its steady decline in the late 1950s, a devastation of epic proportions that continued throughout the 1980s and beyond. This artilce reviews industry consolidation during this period.

From poor labor relations and delayed modernization to an unbalanced product mix and inconvenient mill locations, the U.S. steel industry began its steady decline in the late 1950s.

The advent of "little steel" and the strike of 1937 had a lasting impact on the domestic steel industry and labor relations in particular.

Integration of the steel industry continued with the rise of Bethlehem Steel Corporation.

The beginning of the big integrated steel industry began with the formation of the United States steel corporation in 1901. This article describes the growth of the U.S. steel industry in the first half of the twentieth century.

The invention of the single crystal jet engine blade under Frank Versnyder and a team of scientists at the Pratt & Whitney Division of United Technologies is considered one of the 50 greatest advances in metallurgical history.

Samuel Leslie Hoyt was one of the earliest metallurgists to receive his advanced training in Europe. He was involved in many of the key metallurgical developments in the middle part of the 20th century and also wrote about the achievements of his peers in the book Men of Metals.

Edgar Bain pioneered the study of the reaction of austenite to lower temperature phases during isothermal transformation, resulting in a new phase named in his honor—Bainite.

Metals pioneer Paul Dyer Merica and his associates at the National Bureau of Standards discovered the principles that governed the age hardening of duralumin. The resulting developments opened the door to a new range of high-strength, lightweight alloys for engineering and transportation applications.

Among his peers, Zay Jeffries was considered the elder statesman of American metallurgy. This brief article reviews his career, including stints at Alcoa and General Electric, and his fundamental contributions to alloy development.

Steel pioneer Henry Marion Howe was an industrialist, scientist, teacher, writer, and lifelong researcher. Howe’s reputation developed due to three books he wrote on steel. His major legacy, however, is based on his metallography courses. Many of his students became important contributors to the development of metallography as an art and science.

From 1988 to 2008, the minimill industry added 25 million tons annual capacity—25% of the total U.S. steel market.

From 1900 to 1960, there was little change in the steelmaking industry. That period of stasis came to an end with the introduction of steel minimills in the late 1960s.

Titanium's potential was not fully realized until 1956 when metal production reached 5200 tons and sponge production nearly 15,000 tons. After a decade of difficult R&D and an investment of several hundred million dollars by government and industry, titanium fulfilled its promise as a new metal for jet engine and airframe applications.

The titanium industry was launched in the 1950s and required the efforts of numerous metallurgical engineers and research laboratories, nearly a dozen corporations, and titanium metal producers, along with hundreds of millions of dollars.

The only process available for producing titanium was patented by William J. Kroll in 1940, marking the dawn of a new metals industry.

From wartime use to cutlery and building facades, the stainless steel industry began to experience dynamic growth from the 1920s on, especially following World War II.

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.

Alcoa’s aluminum monopoly continued throughout the 1920s and 1930s—a serious problem when World War II demands far exceeded production capacity. This articles reviews advances in aluminum technology during the war and the postwar period.