Discoveries of the chemical elements

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The discovery of the elements known to exist today is presented here in chronological order. The elements are listed generally in the order in which each was first defined as the pure element, as the exact date of discovery of most elements cannot be accurately defined. There are no written records for the discoveries of the first few elements.

Contents

[edit] Antiquity

Name Date Discoverer
Carbon antiquity[1][2] Unknown
Copper antiquity[1][2] Unknown
Gold antiquity[1][2] Unknown
Iron antiquity[1][2] Unknown
Lead antiquity[1][2] Unknown
Mercury antiquity [1][2] Unknown
Silver antiquity [1][2] Unknown
Sulfur antiquity [1][2] Unknown
Tin antiquity [1][2] Unknown

[edit] 13th century

Name Date Discoverer Notes
Arsenic 1250 [1][2] Albertus Magnus is believed to have been the first to isolate the element.

[edit] 15th century

Name Date Discoverer Notes
Antimony 1450 [1][2] First described scientifically by Tholden
Bismuth 15th century? [1] May have been described in writings attributed to Basil Valentinus, definitively identified by Claude François Geoffroy in 1753 [2]

[edit] 16th century

Name Date Discoverer Notes
Zinc 1526 [1][2] Identified as a unique metal by Paracelsus

[edit] 17th century

Name Date Discoverer Notes
Phosphorus 1669 [1][2] Hennig Brand, later described by Robert Boyle First element to be chemically discovered.

[edit] 18th century

Name Date Discoverer Notes
Cobalt 1732 [1][2] Georg Brandt
Platinum ca. 1741[1][2] Discovered independently by Antonio de Ulloa (published 1748) and Charles Wood. Noticed in South American gold ore since the 16th century.
Nickel 1751[1][2] Axel Fredrik Cronstedt
Magnesium 1755[1][2] Joseph Black
Hydrogen 1766[1][2] Isolated and described by Henry Cavendish, named by Antoine Lavoisier
Oxygen 1771[1][2] Joseph Priestley Because of his belief in phlogiston, Priestley did not realize that he had prepared a new element, and thought that he had managed to prepare air free from phlogiston ("de-phlogisticated air").
Nitrogen 1772[1][2] Daniel Rutherford
Chlorine 1774[1][2] Carl Wilhelm Scheele
Manganese 1774[1][2] Johan Gottlieb Gahn
Molybdenum 1778[1][2] Carl Wilhelm Scheele
Tellurium 1782[1][2] Franz-Joseph Müller von Reichenstein
Tungsten 1783[1][2] Juan José Elhuyar and Fausto Elhuyar
Uranium 1789[1][2] Martin Heinrich Klaproth Named after the newly discovered planet, Uranus.
Zirconium 1789[1][2] Martin Heinrich Klaproth
Strontium 1793[1][2] Martin Heinrich Klaproth
Yttrium 1794[1][2] Johan Gadolin
Titanium 1797[1][2] Martin Heinrich Klaproth
Chromium 1797[1][2] Louis Nicolas Vauquelin
Beryllium 1798[1][2] Louis Nicolas Vauquelin Discovered as an oxide in beryl and emerald; the metal was not isolated until 1828 by Wöhler and by Bussy independently.

[edit] 19th century

Name Date Discoverer Notes
Vanadium 1801[1][2] Andrés Manuel del Río Originally called panchromium, and later erythronium, by its discoverer, but the discovery was not recognized at the time. It was called vanadium by Nils Gabriel Sefström, who rediscovered it 29 years later.
Niobium 1801[1][2] Charles Hatchett Named columbium by discoverer.
Tantalum 1802[1][2] Anders Gustaf Ekeberg
Cerium 1803[1][2] Martin Heinrich Klaproth; Jöns Jakob Berzelius and Wilhelm Hisinger Named after the newly discovered asteroid, Ceres. Discovered nearly simultaneously in two laboratories, though it was later shown that Berzelius and Hisinger's cerium was actually a mixture of cerium, lanthanum and so-called didymium.
Rhodium 1803[1][2] William Hyde Wollaston
Palladium 1803[1][2] William Hyde Wollaston Named after the newly discovered asteroid, Pallas.
Osmium 1803[1][2] Smithson Tennant
Iridium 1803[1][2] Smithson Tennant
Potassium 1807[1][2] Humphry Davy Discovered using electricity from the Voltaic pile to decompose the salts of alkali metals.
Sodium 1807[1][2] Humphry Davy Discovered using electricity from the Voltaic pile to decompose the salts of alkali metals; discovered a few days after potassium, using the same method.
Calcium 1808[1][2] Humphry Davy Discovered using electricity from the Voltaic pile to decompose the salts of alkali metals.
Barium 1808[1][2] Humphry Davy Discovered using electricity from the Voltaic pile to decompose the salts of alkali metals.
Boron 1808[1][2] Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac & Louis-Jacques Thenard
Iodine 1811[1][2] Bernard Courtois
Lithium 1817[1][2] Johan August Arfwedson
Cadmium 1817[1][2] Friedrich Strohmeyer Independently discovered by K.S.L Hermann
Selenium 1817[1][2] Jöns Jakob Berzelius
Silicon 1823[1][2] Jöns Jakob Berzelius
Aluminium 1825[1][2] Hans Christian Ørsted May have been isolated in Roman times, see History of Aluminium.
Bromine 1826[1][2] Antoine Jérôme Balard
Thorium 1828[1][2] Jöns Jakob Berzelius
Beryllium 1828[1][2] Friedrich Wöhler. Independently discovered by A.A.B. Bussy
Lanthanum 1839-41[1][2] Carl Gustaf Mosander Discovered when Mosander showed that the cerium isolated in 1803 by Berzelius was actually a mixture of cerium, lanthanum and so-called didymium.
Terbium 1843[1][2] Carl Gustaf Mosander
Erbium 1843[1][2] Carl Gustaf Mosander
Ruthenium 1844[1][2] Karl Klaus
Caesium 1860[1][2] Robert Bunsen and Gustav Kirchoff First identified by its blue spectroscopic emission line.
Rubidium 1860[1][2] Robert Bunsen and Gustav Kirchoff First identified by its red spectroscopic emission line.
Thallium 1861[1][2] Sir William Crookes First identified by its bright green spectroscopic emission line.
Indium 1863[1][2] Ferdinand Reich and Theodor Richter First identified by its indigo-blue spectroscopic emission line.
Helium 1868[1][2] Independently by Pierre Jansen and Norman Lockyer First identified by astronomers as an emission line in the spectrum of the sun.
Gallium 1875[1][2] Paul Emile Lecoq de Boisbaudran Predicted by Mendeleev in 1871 as ekaaluminium.
Ytterbium 1878[1][2] Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac
Thulium 1879[1][2] Per Teodor Cleve
Scandium 1879[1][2] Lars Fredrik Nilson Predicted by Mendeleev in 1871 as ekaboron.
Holmium 1879[1][2] Marc Delafontaine, Jacques-Louis Soret and Per Teodor Cleve
Samarium 1879[1][2] Paul Emile Lecoq de Boisbaudran
Gadolinium 1880[1][2] Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac
Praseodymium 1885[1][2] Carl Auer von Welsbach The didymium isolated by Mosander in 1839 was shown to be two separate elements; praseodymium and neodymium.
Neodymium 1885[1][2] Carl Auer von Welsbach The didymium isolated by Mosander in 1839 was shown to be two separate elements, praseodymium and neodymium.
Dysprosium 1886[1][2] Paul Emile Lecoq de Boisbaudran
Germanium 1886[1][2] Clemens Winkler Predicted by Mendeleev in 1871 as ekasilicon.
Fluorine 1886[1][2] Joseph Henri Moissan
Argon 1894[1][2] Lord Rayleigh & Sir William Ramsay Discovered by comparing the molecular weights of nitrogen prepared by liquefaction from air and nitrogen prepared by chemical means.
Neon 1898[1][2] Sir William Ramsay Separated from liquid argon by difference in boiling point.
Krypton 1898[1][2] Sir William Ramsay Separated from liquid argon by difference in boiling point.
Xenon 1898[1][2] Sir William Ramsay Separated from liquid argon by difference in boiling point.
Radium 1898[1][2] Pierre Curie and Marie Curie
Polonium 1898[1][2] Pierre Curie and Marie Curie
Radon 1898[1][2] Friedrich Ernst Dorn, who called it niton Discovered as a product of the radioactive decay of radium.
Actinium 1899[1][2] André-Louis Debierne

[edit] 20th century

Number Name Date Discoverer Notes
63 Europium 1901[1][2] Eugene Demarcay
71 Lutetium 1907[1][2] Georges Urbain
91 Protactinium 1917[1][2] Kasimir Fajans, O. Göhring, Fredrich Soddy, John Cranston, Lise Meitner and Otto Hahn
72 Hafnium 1923[1][2] Dirk Coster and György Hevesy
75 Rhenium 1925[1][2] Walter Noddack and Ida Tacke Last stable element to be discovered.
43 Technetium 1937[1][2] Carlo Perrier and Emilio Segrè First synthetic element discovered. Predicted by Mendeleev in 1871 as ekamanganese.
87 Francium 1939[1][2] Marguerite Perey Last element to be discovered in nature, rather than synthesized in the lab. Note that some of the "synthetic" elements that were discovered later (plutonium, neptunium, astatine) were eventually found in trace amounts in nature as well.
85 Astatine 1940[1][2] Dale R. Corson, K.R.Mackenzie, Emilio Segrè Later determined to occur naturally in minuscule quantitites (<25 grams in earth's crust).
93 Neptunium 1940[1][2] E.M. McMillan & Philip H. Abelson, University of California, Berkeley First transuranium element discovered.
94 Plutonium 1941[1][2] Glenn T. Seaborg, Arthur C. Wahl, Joseph W. Kennedy, Emilio Segrè
95 Americium 1944[1][2] Glenn T. Seaborg
96 Curium 1944[1][2] Glenn T. Seaborg
61 Promethium 1945[1][2] Jacob A. Marinsky
97 Berkelium 1949[1][2] Albert Ghiorso, Glenn T. Seaborg, Stanley G. Thompson, Kenneth Street Jr.
98 Californium 1950[1][2] Albert Ghiorso, Glenn T. Seaborg, Stanley G. Thompson, Kenneth Street Jr.
99 Einsteinium 1952[1][2] Argonne Laboratory, Los Alamos Laboratory, and University of California
100 Fermium 1953[1][2] Argonne Laboratory, Los Alamos Laboratory, and University of California
101 Mendelevium 1955[1][2] Glenn T. Seaborg, Evans G. Valens
102 Nobelium 1958[1][2] Albert Ghiorso, Glenn T. Seaborg, John R. Walton and Torbørn Sikkeland
103 Lawrencium 1961[1][2] Albert Ghiorso, Torbjørn Sikkeland, Almon Larsh and Robert M. Latimer
104 Rutherfordium 1964[1][2] Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, USSR
105 Dubnium 1967[1][2] Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, USSR. Later confirmed by Albert Ghiorso
106 Seaborgium 1974[1][2] Joint Institute for Nuclear Research and University of California, Berkeley
107 Bohrium 1976[1][2] Y. Oganessian et al, Dubna and confirmed at GSI (1982)
109 Meitnerium 1982[1][2] Peter Armbruster and Gottfried Münzenberg, GSI
108 Hassium 1984[1][2] Peter Armbruster and Gottfried Münzenberg
110 Darmstadtium 1994[1][2] S. Hofmann, V. Ninov et al, GSI
111 Roentgenium 1994[1][2] S. Hofmann, V. Ninov et al, GSI
112 Ununbium 1996[1][2] S. Hofmann, V. Ninov et al, GSI
114 Ununquadium 1999 Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna[3]

[edit] 21st century

Number Name Date Discoverer Notes
116 Ununhexium 2001 Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna[4]
113 Ununtrium 2004 Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory[5]
115 Ununpentium 2004 Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory[5]
118 Ununoctium 2006 Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory[6]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by bz ca cb cc cd ce cf cg ch ci cj ck cl cm cn co cp cq cr cs ct cu cv cw cx cy cz da db dc dd de df dg dh di Periodic Table: Date of Discovery. Retrieved on 2007-03-13.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by bz ca cb cc cd ce cf cg ch ci cj ck cl cm cn co cp cq cr cs ct cu cv cw cx cy cz da db dc dd de df dg dh di Timeline of Element Discovery. Retrieved on 2007-03-13.
  3. ^ Oganessian, Yu. Ts.; et al. (October 1999). "Synthesis of Superheavy Nuclei in the 48Ca + 244Pu Reaction". Physical Review Letters 83: 3154. DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.83.3154. 
  4. ^ Oganessian, Yu. Ts.; et al. (2000). "Observation of the decay of 292116". Physical Review C 63: 011301. DOI:10.1103/PhysRevC.63.011301. 
  5. ^ a b Oganessian, Yu. Ts.; et al. (2005). "Synthesis of elements 115 and 113 in the reaction 243Am + 48Ca". Physical Review C 72: 034611. DOI:10.1103/PhysRevC.72.034611. 
  6. ^ Oganessian, Yu. Ts.; et al. (2006). "Synthesis of the isotopes of elements 118 and 116 in the 249Cf and 245Cm+48Ca fusion reactions". Physical Review C 74: 044602. DOI:10.1103/PhysRevC.74.044602. 
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