[Florin_Andrei]

Yup. The reason why it was not used for a long time is that it was hard to make. Aluminum is a very reactive metal; when combined with oxygen or other stuff, it sits at the bottom of a deep pit of energy. It takes a lot of effort to get it out of there. The electrolytic process is basically a brute-force approach: throw enough energy at anything, and it will start moving eventually.

Napoleon III had his fancy-dinner utensils made from aluminum, for those occasions when gold did not seem lavish enough. And then cheap manufacturing was invented, and the rest is history.