The Brits have no one to blame but themselves. Sir Humphry Davy dubbed the metal 'alumium' in 1808 (he also identified sodium, potassium, calcium, and barium as elements). In 1810 he preferred 'alumine.' In 1812 he changed his mind again, referring to it as 'aluminum.' That is the spelling that stuck in the American lexicon. In 1811, another scientist, William Hyde Wollaston, reviewed Davy's work in "The Critical Review," and whether accidently or purposely, refers to it as 'aluminium,' the first-known use of the current British spelling.
