Short answers, pulled from the story.
Cornish clergyman William Gregor discovered titanium in 1791 while examining black sand from a stream near Manaccan, Cornwall. He reported his findings in German and French science journals under the name manaccanite before Prussian chemist Martin Heinrich Klaproth confirmed the identity in 1795.
Matthew A. Hunter produced pure metallic titanium in 1910 at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute by heating titanium tetrachloride with sodium under great pressure. This Hunter process was the first method to create the metal but remained too laborious and expensive for commercial use.
William Justin Kroll developed the Kroll process in 1932 and refined it eight years later using magnesium and sodium to reduce titanium tetrachloride. This method remains the primary way titanium is produced today and involves reducing titanium tetrachloride with molten magnesium in an argon atmosphere.
During the Cold War, the Soviet Union forged hulls for Alfa class and Mike class submarines using titanium in huge vacuum tubes. The United States government maintained a large stockpile of titanium sponge at the Defense National Stockpile Center and used the metal for high-performance aircraft such as the Lockheed A-12 and the SR-71 Blackbird.
Surgeons began using titanium for implants in the 1950s because its biocompatibility means it is non-toxic and not rejected by the body. The metal's ability to osseointegrate allows it to bond directly with bone, creating implants that can last for over 30 years without corroding or causing an immune response.
Titanium dioxide is the end point of 95% of all refined titanium and serves as the most widely used white pigment in existence. This compound is used in paint, paper, sunscreen, and gemstones because it is chemically inert, resists fading in sunlight, and has a high index of refraction.