Use of nickel (as a natural meteoric nickelâiron alloy) has been traced as far back as 3500 BCE. Nickel was first isolated and classified as a chemical element in 1751 by Axel Fredrik Cronstedt, who initially mistook the ore for a copper mineral.
One of the most powerful bankers of his era, J.P. (John Pierpont) Morgan (1837-1913) financed railroads and helped organize U.S. Steel, General Electric and other major corporations.
Someone had remembered that Morgan, a Cleveland inventor and entrepreneur, had designed a device called the Morgan safety hood and smoke protector back in 1912. Equipped with the gas mask, Morgan, his brother, and a team of volunteers were able to rescue 32 of the trapped men.