Talk:List of chemical elements named after people

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I deleted Cerium because it is not named for a person; it is named for the asteroid Ceres. The page Chemical elements named after places already has a list of elements named after astronomical objects, which includes Cerium. If Cerium were to be included here, then Helium, Selenium, Uranium, Neptunium, and Plutonium should be also. But again, they are named after astronomical objects, not after deities.


Similarly, I deleted Samarium, which is named for the mineral Samarite. Samarite is named for Colonel Samarski, but the element is not.

-- Dominus 15:30, 25 Feb 2004 (UTC)

In which case they can be included as a "Note" section or a link be given to the pages where the entries are. My idea of the page is to list entries that are "derived from names of people", which could also be at a stage of derivation not necessarily the first one, as long as the derivation is explained. Duplication of entries in multiple pages should not be a concern. Does the idea sound OK or would it be plausible after a list title change ?
The idea is that the entries are of encyclopedic value and matches the essence of this page, even if not an exact interpretation of the title. Jay 17:21, 25 Feb 2004 (UTC)
They aren't named for (= at the request of), they're named after (= in honour of) or named from (= by similarity to). So Gallium is named after France but also for Lecoque; Samarium is named from Samarite, which is in turn named after Colonel Samarski (unless he specifically requested that the mineral bear his name). - MPF 17:26, 25 Mar 2004 (UTC)

I say we should err on the side of including excess information instead of erring on the side of being pedantic buttholes, as is so often the case here in wiki-editorspace. Sys Hax 23:16, 3 January 2007 (UTC)