List of chemical elements by their discovery

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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 that were known in antiquity.

Given is each element's name, atomic number, year of first report, name of the discoverer, and some notes related to the discovery.

Element categories in the periodic table

Metals Metalloids Nonmetals Unknown
Alkali metals Alkaline earth metals Inner transition elements Transition elements Other metals Other nonmetals Halogens Noble gases
Lanthanides Actinides
Periodic Table of elements
Periodic Table of elements

Contents

[edit] Antiquity

Z Name Date Discoverer Notes
29 Copper earliest estimates suggest around 9000 BCE[1] Unknown
26 Iron before 5000 BCE[2] Unknown Proeminence of iron for tools and weapons lead to the start of iron age around 1200 BCE.
82 Lead before 5000 BCE[3] Unknown
50 Tin before 3000 BCE Unknown Smelt in combination with copper to produce bronze
79 Gold first described at least as early as 2600 BCE[4] Unknown
47 Silver before 3000 BCE[5] Unknown Estimated to have happened to shortly after that of copper and gold.[6]
6 Carbon diamonds were probably known as early as 2500 BCE[7] Unknown First true chemical analyses were made only in 18th century,[8] and in 1789 was listed by Antoine Lavoisier as an element.[9]
16 Sulfur before 2000 BCE[10] Unknown recognized as an element in 1777 by Antoine Lavoisier.
80 Mercury at least as early as 1500 BCE[11] Unknown

[edit] 13th-17th century

Z Name Date Discoverer Notes
33 Arsenic 1250[12][13] Albertus Magnus is believed to have been the first to isolate the element. In 1649, Johann Schröder published two ways of preparing elemental arsenic.
51 Antimony ca.1450[12][13] First described by Prior Basilius Valentinus First description of a procedure for isolating elemental antimony in 1540 by Vannoccio Biringuccio.
83 Bismuth ca.1450?[12] May have been described in writings attributed to Basilius Valentinus Definitively identified by Claude François Geoffroy in 1753[13]
30 Zinc 1526[12][13] Identified as a unique metal by Paracelsus Extracted as a metal since antiquity (in India even before 100BC), but the true nature of this metal was not understood in ancient times.
15 Phosphorus 1669[12][13] Hennig Brand, later described by Robert Boyle First element to be chemically discovered (prepared from urine).

[edit] 18th century

Z Name Date Discoverer Notes
27 Cobalt 1732[12][13] Georg Brandt Proved that the blue color of class is due to a new element and not bismuth as thought previously.
78 Platinum ca. 1741[12][13] Discovered independently by Antonio de Ulloa (published 1748) and Charles Wood. Noticed in South American gold ore since the 16th century.
28 Nickel 1751[12][13] Axel Fredrik Cronstedt By attempting to extract copper from the mineral known as "fake copper" (now known as niccolite).
12 Magnesium 1755[12][13] Joseph Black Isolated electrochemically in 1808 by Humphry Davy from magnesia.
1 Hydrogen 1766[12][13] Isolated and described by Henry Cavendish, named by Antoine Lavoisier H2 had been isolated originally by Paracelsus around 1500 by reacting strong acids with metals, but did not recognise it as a new element.[14]
8 Oxygen 1772[15] Carl Wilhelm Scheele Obtained from by heating mercuric oxide and nitrates. Joseph Priestley also prepared oxygen by 1774, but only Lavoisier recognised it as a true element and named it in 1777.
7 Nitrogen 1772[12][13] Daniel Rutherford Carl Wilhelm Scheele, Henry Cavendish, and Joseph Priestley also studied the element about the same time, but Lavoisier named it.
17 Chlorine 1774[12][13] Carl Wilhelm Scheele Obtained from hydrochloric acid, but only recognised as an element in 1810 by Sir Humphry Davy.
25 Manganese 1774[12][13] Johan Gottlieb Gahn Obtained by reduction of manganese dioxide with carbon and recognised by Carl Wilhelm Scheele as an element.
42 Molybdenum 1778[12][13] Carl Wilhelm Scheele Recognised as a constituent of molybdena, and isolated in 1781 by Peter Jacob Hjelm.
52 Tellurium 1782[12][13] Franz-Joseph Müller von Reichenstein Observed as an impurity in gold ores.
74 Tungsten 1783[12][13] Juan José Elhuyar and Fausto Elhuyar By reducing tungstic acid obtained from wolframite
92 Uranium 1789[12][13] Martin Heinrich Klaproth Mistakenly identified an uranium oxide obtained from pitchblende as the element itself.[16] and named it after the recenty discovered planet Uranus. Eventually isolated in 1841 by Eugène-Melchior Péligot.[17]
40 Zirconium 1789[18] Martin Heinrich Klaproth Identified the a new element in zircon. Isolated in impue form in 1824 by Berzelius.
22 Titanium 1791[19] William Gregor Found an oxide of a new metain ilmenite. Martin Heinrich Klaproth independently discovered the element in rutile in 1795 and named it. Pure metallic form was obtained only in 1910 by Matthew A. Hunter.[20]
38 Strontium 1793[12][13] Martin Heinrich Klaproth
39 Yttrium 1794[12][13] Johan Gadolin
24 Chromium 1797[12][13] Louis Nicolas Vauquelin Discovered in crocoite.

[edit] 19th century

Z Name Date Discoverer Notes
23 Vanadium 1801[12][13] 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.
41 Niobium 1801[12][13] Charles Hatchett Named columbium by discoverer.
73 Tantalum 1802[12][13] Anders Gustaf Ekeberg
58 Cerium 1803[12][13] 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.
45 Rhodium 1803[12][13] William Hyde Wollaston
46 Palladium 1803[12][13] William Hyde Wollaston Named after the newly discovered asteroid, Pallas.
76 Osmium 1803[12][13] Smithson Tennant
77 Iridium 1803[12][13] Smithson Tennant
19 Potassium 1807[12][13] Humphry Davy Discovered using electricity from the Voltaic pile to decompose the salts of alkali metals.
11 Sodium 1807[12][13] 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.
20 Calcium 1808[12][13] Humphry Davy Discovered using electricity from the Voltaic pile to decompose the salts of alkali metals.
56 Barium 1808[12][13] Humphry Davy Discovered using electricity from the Voltaic pile to decompose the salts of alkali metals.
5 Boron 1808[12][13] Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac & Louis Jacques Thénard
53 Iodine 1811[12][13] Bernard Courtois
3 Lithium 1817[12][13] Johan August Arfwedson
48 Cadmium 1817[12][13] Friedrich Stromeyer Independently discovered by K.S.L Hermann
34 Selenium 1817[12][13] Jöns Jakob Berzelius
32 Silicon 1823[12][13] Jöns Jakob Berzelius
13 Aluminium 1825[12][13] Hans Christian Ørsted
35 Bromine 1826[12][13] Antoine Jérôme Balard
90 Thorium 1828[12][13] Jöns Jakob Berzelius
4 Beryllium 1828[12][13] Friedrich Wöhler. Independently discovered by Antoine Bussy Discovered as an oxide in beryl and emerald by Louis Nicolas Vauquelin in 1798, but not isolated until 1828.
57 Lanthanum 1839-41[12][13] 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.
65 Terbium 1843[12][13] Carl Gustaf Mosander
68 Erbium 1843[12][13] Carl Gustaf Mosander
44 Ruthenium 1844[12][13] Karl Ernst Claus
55 Caesium 1860[12][13] Robert Bunsen and Gustav Kirchhoff First identified by its blue spectroscopic emission line.
37 Rubidium 1860[12][13] Robert Bunsen and Gustav Kirchhoff First identified by its red spectroscopic emission line.
81 Thallium 1861[12][13] Sir William Crookes First identified by its bright green spectroscopic emission line.
49 Indium 1863[12][13] Ferdinand Reich and Theodor Richter First identified by its indigo-blue spectroscopic emission line.
2 Helium 1868[12][13] Independently by Pierre Janssen and Norman Lockyer First identified by astronomers as an emission line in the spectrum of the sun.
1869
Mendeleev arranges the 66 of the known elements then into the first modern periodic table
31 Gallium 1875[12][13] Paul Emile Lecoq de Boisbaudran Predicted by Mendeleev in 1871 as ekaaluminium.
70 Ytterbium 1878[12][13] Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac
69 Thulium 1879[12][13] Per Teodor Cleve
21 Scandium 1879[12][13] Lars Fredrik Nilson Predicted by Mendeleev in 1871 as ekaboron.
67 Holmium 1879[12][13] Marc Delafontaine, Jacques-Louis Soret and Per Teodor Cleve
62 Samarium 1879[12][13] Paul Emile Lecoq de Boisbaudran
64 Gadolinium 1880[12][13] Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac
59 Praseodymium 1885[12][13] Carl Auer von Welsbach The didymium isolated by Mosander in 1839 was shown to be two separate elements; praseodymium and neodymium.
60 Neodymium 1885[12][13] Carl Auer von Welsbach The didymium isolated by Mosander in 1839 was shown to be two separate elements, praseodymium and neodymium.
66 Dysprosium 1886[12][13] Paul Emile Lecoq de Boisbaudran
32 Germanium 1886[12][13] Clemens Winkler Predicted by Mendeleev in 1871 as ekasilicon.
9 Fluorine 1886[12][13] Henri Moissan
18 Argon 1894[12][13] Lord Rayleigh & Sir William Ramsay Discovered by comparing the molecular weights of nitrogen prepared by liquefaction from air and nitrogen prepared by chemical means.
10 Neon 1898[12][13] Sir William Ramsay Separated from liquid argon by difference in boiling point.
36 Krypton 1898[12][13] Sir William Ramsay Separated from liquid argon by difference in boiling point.
54 Xenon 1898[12][13] Sir William Ramsay Separated from liquid argon by difference in boiling point.
88 Radium 1898[12][13] Pierre Curie and Marie Curie
84 Polonium 1898[12][13] Pierre Curie and Marie Curie
86 Radon 1898[12][13][21] Friedrich Ernst Dorn, who called it niton Discovered as a product of the radioactive decay of radium.
89 Actinium 1899[12][13] André-Louis Debierne

[edit] 20th century

Z Name Date Discoverer Notes
63 Europium 1901[12][13] Eugene Demarcay
71 Lutetium 1907[12][13] Georges Urbain
91 Protactinium 1917[12][13] Otto Hahn and Lise Meitner Predicted by Mendeleev in 1871 and originally isolated in 1900 by William Crookes but identified only in 1917.[22]
72 Hafnium 1923[12][13] Dirk Coster and György Hevesy
75 Rhenium 1925[12][13] Walter Noddack and Ida Tacke Last stable element to be discovered.
43 Technetium 1937[12][13] Carlo Perrier and Emilio Segrè First synthetic element discovered. Predicted by Mendeleev in 1871 as ekamanganese.
87 Francium 1939[12][13] 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[12][13] 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[12][13] E.M. McMillan & Philip H. Abelson, University of California, Berkeley First transuranium element discovered.
94 Plutonium 1941[12][13] Glenn T. Seaborg, Arthur C. Wahl, Joseph W. Kennedy, Emilio Segrè
95 Americium 1944[12][13] Glenn T. Seaborg
96 Curium 1944[12][13] Glenn T. Seaborg
61 Promethium 1945[12][13] Jacob A. Marinsky
97 Berkelium 1949[12][13] Albert Ghiorso, Glenn T. Seaborg, Stanley G. Thompson, Kenneth Street Jr.
98 Californium 1950[12][13] Albert Ghiorso, Glenn T. Seaborg, Stanley G. Thompson, Kenneth Street Jr.
99 Einsteinium 1952[12][13] Argonne Laboratory, Los Alamos Laboratory, and University of California
100 Fermium 1953[12][13] Argonne Laboratory, Los Alamos Laboratory, and University of California
101 Mendelevium 1955[12][13] Glenn T. Seaborg, Evans G. Valens
102 Nobelium 1958[12][13] Albert Ghiorso, Glenn T. Seaborg, John R. Walton and Torbørn Sikkeland
103 Lawrencium 1961[12][13] Albert Ghiorso, Torbjørn Sikkeland, Almon Larsh and Robert M. Latimer
104 Rutherfordium 1964[12][13] Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, USSR
105 Dubnium 1967[12][13] Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, USSR. Later confirmed by Albert Ghiorso
106 Seaborgium 1974[12][13] Joint Institute for Nuclear Research and University of California, Berkeley
107 Bohrium 1976[12][13] Y. Oganessian et al, Dubna and confirmed at GSI (1982)
109 Meitnerium 1982[12][13] Peter Armbruster and Gottfried Münzenberg, GSI
108 Hassium 1984[12][13] Peter Armbruster and Gottfried Münzenberg
110 Darmstadtium 1994[12][13] S. Hofmann, V. Ninov et al, GSI
111 Roentgenium 1994[12][13] S. Hofmann, V. Ninov et al, GSI
112 Ununbium 1996[12][13] S. Hofmann, V. Ninov et al, GSI
114 Ununquadium 1999 Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna[23]
116 Ununhexium 2000 Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna[24]

[edit] 21st century

Z Name Date Discoverer Notes
113 Ununtrium 2003 Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory[25]
115 Ununpentium 2003 Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory[25]
118 Ununoctium 2002 Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory[26]
122 Unbibium 2008 Hebrew University of Jerusalem[27] Disputed claim:A group led by Amnon Marinov at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem claims to have found single atoms of unbibium in naturally occurring thorium deposits at a concentration of between 10-11 and 10-12.[28] If this is accurate, unbibium would be the first naturally occurring element to be discovered in nature since Francium.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ CSA - Discovery Guides, A Brief History of Copper
  2. ^ 26 Iron
  3. ^ Lead Facts - Periodic Table of the Chemical Elements
  4. ^ Nicholas Reeves, Egypt's False Prophet: Akhenaten, Thames & Hudson, p.69
  5. ^ Silver Facts - Periodic Table of the Elements
  6. ^ 47 Silver
  7. ^ "Chinese made first use of diamond", BBC News, 17 May 2005. Retrieved on 2007-03-21. 
  8. ^ Ferchault de Réaumur, R-A (1722). L'art de convertir le fer forgé en acier, et l'art d'adoucir le fer fondu, ou de faire des ouvrages de fer fondu aussi finis que le fer forgé (English translation from 1956). 
  9. ^ Senese,Fred (September 9, 2009). Who discovered carbon?. Frostburg State University. Retrieved on 2007-11-24.
  10. ^ Sulfur History
  11. ^ Mercury and the environment — Basic facts. Environment Canada, Federal Government of Canada (2004). Retrieved on 2008-03-27.
  12. ^ 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 Periodic Table: Date of Discovery. Retrieved on 2007-03-13.
  13. ^ 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 Timeline of Element Discovery. Retrieved on 2007-03-13.
  14. ^ Andrews, A. C. (1968). "Oxygen", in Clifford A. Hampel: The Encyclopedia of the Chemical Elements. New York: Reinhold Book Corporation, 272. LCCN 68-29938. 
  15. ^ Cook, Gerhard A.; Lauer, Carol M. (1968). "Oxygen", in Clifford A. Hampel: The Encyclopedia of the Chemical Elements. New York: Reinhold Book Corporation, 499–500. LCCN 68-29938. 
  16. ^ M. H. Klaproth (1789). "Chemische Untersuchung des Uranits, einer neuentdeckten metallischen Substanz". Chemische Annalen 2: 387–403. 
  17. ^ E.-M. Péligot (1842). "Recherches Sur L'Uranium". Annales de chimie et de physique 5 (5): 5–47. 
  18. ^ Lide, David R., ed. (2007–2008), “Zirconium”, CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, vol. 4, New York: CRC Press, pp. 42, 978-0-8493-0488-0 
  19. ^ Barksdale, Jelks (1968). The Encyclopedia of the Chemical Elements. Skokie, Illinois: Reinhold Book Corporation, 732-38 "Titanium". LCCCN 68-29938. 
  20. ^ Titanium. Los Alamos National Laboratory (2004). Retrieved on 2006-12-29.
  21. ^ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1957Natur.179..912P
  22. ^ Emsley, John (2001). Nature's Building Blocks, (Hardcover, First Edition), Oxford University Press, page 347. ISBN 0198503407. 
  23. ^ 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. 
  24. ^ Oganessian, Yu. Ts.; et al. (2000). "Observation of the decay of 292116". Physical Review C 63: 011301. doi:10.1103/PhysRevC.63.011301. 
  25. ^ 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. 
  26. ^ 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. 
  27. ^ [0804.3869] Evidence for a long-lived superheavy nucleus with atomic mass number A=292 and atomic number Z=~122 in natural Th
  28. ^ the physics arXiv blog » Blog Archive » First superheavy element found in nature

[edit] External links

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