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VISUAL CHEMISTRY

ELEMENT IDENTIFICATION TIMELINE

PREHISTORIC TIMES

 

ANCIENT TIMES (GREEKS, ROMANS, EGYPTIANS)
.................... 1250
 AD
 -
 1600
 AD
c1250 Arsenic (As) Albertus Magnus (Germany)
1557 Platinum (Pt) (Julius Caesar Scaliger refers to platinum in his writings. It had been reported as being used to make jewellery in the New World).
.................... 1650
AD
c1650 Robert Boyle adopted the scientific method in his chemical research. Chemistry replaces alchemy.
1669 Phosphorus (P) Henning Brand (Germany)
.................... 1700
AD
1735 Cobalt (Co) George Brant (France)
1751 Nickel (Ni) Axel Fredrik Cronstedt (Sweden)
1766 Hydrogen (H) Henry Cavendish (UK)
1772 Nitrogen (N) Daniel Rutherford (UK)
1774 Chlorine (Cl) Carl Wilhelm Scheele (Sweden)
1774 Manganese (Mn) John Gottlieb Gahn (Sweden)
1778 Molybdenum (Mo) Carl Wilhelm Scheele (Sweden)
1783 Tungsten (W) José and Fausto Elhuyar (Spain)
1790 Strontium (Sr) Adair Crawford (UK)
1794 Yttrium (Y) Johan Gadolin (Sweden)
1750
AD

 

 
1753 Bismuth (Bi) Claude-François Geoffroy (France)

1775 Oxygen (O) Joseph Priestly (UK)
1783 Tellurium (Te) Franz Joseph Muller von Reichenstein (Romania)
1789 Antoine Lavoisier's Elementary Treatise of Chemistry introduces a new definition of an element.
1789 Zirconium (Zr) Martin Heinrich Klaproth (Germany)
1789  Uranium (U) Martin Heinrich Klaproth (Germany)
1791 Titanium (Ti) William Gregor (UK)
1797 Beryllium (Be) Louis Nicolas Vauquelin (France)
1797 Chromium (Cr) Nicolas-Louis Vauquelin (France)
1801 Vanadium (V) Andrés Manuel del Río, (Mexico)
1801 Niobium (Nb) Charles Hatchett (UK)
1802 Tantalum (Ta) Anders Gustaf Ekeberg (Sweden)
 
 
 
 
 
 
1808 Boron (B) Sir Humphry Davy (UK), Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac, and Louis Jacques Thénard (France)
1808 Magnesium (Mg) Sir Humphry Davy (UK)
1808 Calcium (Ca) Sir Humphry Davy (UK)
1808 Barium (Ba) Sir Humphry Davy (UK)
1824 Silicon (Si) Jöns Jakob Berzelius (Sweden)
1826 Bromine (Br) Jöns Jakob Berzelius (Sweden)
 
 
 
 
1842 Erbium (Er) Carl Gustav Mosander (Sweden)
1844  Ruthenium (Ru) Karl Klauss (Estonia)
1800
AD

 
1803 Palladium (Pd) William Hyde Wollaston (UK)
1803 Rhodium (Rh) William Hyde Wollaston (UK)
1803 Cerium (Ce) Martin Klaproth (Germay) and Jöns Jakob Berzelius and Wilhelm Hisinger (Sweden).
1803 Osmium (Os) Smithson Tennant and William Hyde Wollaston (UK)
1803 Iridium (Ir) Smithson Tennant (UK)
1807 John Dalton's Theory of Atoms is published.

1807  Sodium (Na) Humphry Davy (UK)
1807  Potassium (K) Humphry Davy (UK)
1811 Iodine (I) Bernard Courtois (France)
1817 Lithium (Li) Johann Arfwedson (Sweden)
1817 Selenium (Se) Jöns Jacob Berzelius (Sweden)
1817 Cadmium (Cd) Friedrich Stromeyer (Germany)

1825  Aluminium (Al) Hans Christian Øersted (Denmark)
1829 Thorium (Th)   Jöns Jacob Berzelius (Sweden)
1839 Lanthanum (La) Carl Gustav Mosander (Sweden)
1843 Terbium (Tb) Carl Gustav Mosander (Sweden)
1860 Caesium (Cs) Robert Wilhelm Bunsen and Gustav Robert Kirchhoff (Germany)
 
 
1878 Holmium (Ho) Jacques-Louis Soret (France)
1878 Ytterbium (Yb) Jean Charles Galissard de Marigac (France)
1880 Gadolinium (Gd) Jean Charles Galissard de Marigac (France)
1886  Fluorine (F) Ferdinand Frederic Henri Moisson (France)
1886 Germanium (Ge) Clemens Alexander Winkler (Germany)
1886 Dysprosium (Dy) François Lecoq de Boisbaudran (France)
1898 Neon (Ne) Sir William Ramsay and  Morris William Travers (UK)
1898 Krypton (Kr) Sir William Ramsay and  Morris William Travers (UK)
1898 Xenon (Xe) Sir William Ramsay and  Morris William Travers (UK)
1898 Polonium (Po) Pierre and Marie Curie (France)
1898 Radium (Ra) Pierre and Marie Curie (France)
1850
AD

 

 

 
1861 Rubidium (Rb) Robert Wilhelm Bunsen and Gustav Robert Kirchhoff (Germany)
1861 Thallium (Tl) Sir William Crookes (UK)
1863 Indium (In) Ferdinand Reich and Hieronymous Theodor Richter (Germany)
1869 Dmitri Mendeleev presents his version of the periodic table to the Russian Chemical Society.

1869 Helium (He) Pierre Janssen (France) and Joseph Lockyer (UK)
1875 Gallium (Ga) François Lecoq de Boisbaudran (France)

1879 Scandium (Sc) Lars Fredrick Nilson (Sweden)
1879 Samarium (Sm) François Lecoq de Boisbaudran (France)
1879 Thulium (Tm) Per Theodor Cleve (Sweden)
1885 Praseodymium (Pr) Carl Auer von Welsbach (Austria)
1885 Neodymium (Nd) Carl Auer von Welsbach (Austria)
1895 Argon (Ar) Sir William Ramsay and  John William Strutt (Lord Rayleigh)  (UK)
1899 Radon (Rn) Pierre and Marie Curie (France)
1899 Actinium (Ac) André-Louis Debierne (France)
1901 Europium (Eu) Eugène-Anatole Demarçay (France)
 
 
1922 Hafnium (Hf) Dirk Coster and György Karl von Hevesy (Denmark)
 
 
 
 
1940 Astatine (At) Dale Raymond Corson, Kenneth Ross Mackenzie, and Emilio Segrè (USA)
1940 Neptunium (Np) Edwin Mattison McMillan and Philip Abelson (USA)
1944 Curium (Cm)  Glenn Theodore Seaborg, Ralph Arthur James, and Albert Ghiorso (USA)
1900
AD

 

 

 

1907 Lutetium (Lu) Georges Urbain (France) and Carl Auer von Welsbach (Austria)

1913 Protactinium (Pa) Kasimir Fajans and Otto H. Göhring (USA)
1925 Rhenium (Re) Walter Noddack, Ida Tacke, and Otto Berg (Germany)
1939 Technetium (Tc) Emilio Segrè and Carlo Perrier (Italy)
1939 Francium (Fr)  Marguerite Perey (France)
1941 Plutonium (Pu)  Glenn Theodore Seaborg, Michael Cefola, Edwin Mattison McMillan, Joseph W. Kennedy, and Arthur Charles Wahl (USA)
1945 Promethium (Pr) Charles Coryell, Jack Marinsky, Lawrence Glendenin and Harold G. Richter (USA)
1945 Americium (Am)  Glenn Theodore Seaborg, Leon Owen Morgan, Ralph Arthur James, and Albert Ghiorso (USA)
1949 Berkelium (Bk) Stanley Gerald Thompson, Albert Ghiorso, & Glenn Theodore Seaborg (USA)
1950 Californium (Cf) Stanley Gerald Thompson, Kenneth Street, Albert Ghiorso, and Glenn Theodore Seaborg (USA)
1952 Einsteinium (Es)   Albert Ghiorso, Stanley Gerald Thompson, Gary Hoyt Higgins, Glenn Theodore Seaborg (USA)
1958 Nobelium (No) Albert Ghiorso, Torbjørn Sikkeland, John Richard Walton, and Glenn Theodore Seaborg (USA)
1964 Rutherfordium (Rf) Georgy Nikolaevich Flerov et al. (Russia)
1968 Dubnium (Db) Georgy Nikolaevich Flerov et al. (Russia)
1974 Seaborgium (Sg) Albert Ghiorso, J.Michael Nitschke, Jose R. Alonso, Carol T. Alonso, Matti Nurmia, Ervin Kenneth Hulet, Ronald W. Lougheed, and Glenn Theodore Seaborg (USA)
1982 Meitnerium (Mt) Gottfried Münzenberg, Peter Armbruster et al. (Germany)
1984 Hassium (Hs) Gottfried Münzenberg, Peter Armbruster et al. (Germany)
1950
AD

 

 

 

 
1953 Fermium (Fm) Albert Ghiorso, Stanley Gerald Thompson, Gary Hoyt Higgins, Glenn Theodore Seaborg (USA)
1955 Mendelevium (Md) Albert Ghiorso, Bernard G. Harvey, Gregory Robert Choppin, Stanley Gerald Thompson, and Glenn Theodore Seaborg (USA)

1961 Lawrencium (Lr) Albert Ghiorso, Torbjørn Sikkeland, Almon E. Larsh and Robert M. Latimer (USA)
 
 
 
 
 
 
1981 Bohrium (Bh) Gottfried Münzenberg et al. (Germany)

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