Chronography of Chemistry and the Elements
Page last
modified 30 May 2023
See
also Science, Technology and Innovation
See also Astronomy and Space Travel
See
also Atomic power and electricity
Elements, discovery of; see
Appendix 1 (this focuses on the date the pure element was first isolated)
Famous
chemists born, died � see Appendix 2
For
fertilisers see Farming
7 November 1991, The first report on carbon nanotubes was reported in Nature.
1985, Buckminsterfullerene, a stable molecule comprisoing 60 carbon atoms
arranged in a hollow football-like shape, was first synthesised. It is named
after Richard
Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983), a US architect who conceived the
similarly-shaped geodesic dome.
1980, In the UK, the Royal Society of Chemistry was formed,
from a merger of the Chemical Society
(founded 1841) and the Royal Institute
of Chemistry (founded 1877).
1963, Xenon was found to form compounds siuch as xenon difluoride and
xenon hexafluoride. Sodium xenate and sodium perxenate were also synthesised,
along with the highly unstable xenon oxyflouride (XeOF4),
a colourless liquid at room temperatire. XeO2F2
and xenon trioxide were also made. Krypton tetrafluoride was made at very cold
temperatures but decomposed at room temperature, and divalent krypton was
prepared but found to be highly explosive. �There was specxulation that xenoin fluoride
compounds could be used as rocket fuel, but the high price of xenon militated
against this.
25 April 1963, Kevlar,
a very strong substance termed liquid crystalline polymers, that can make
bullet-proof vests, was patented by Du Pont, USA.
26 July 1956, Superglue
was launched in New York, USA. It was sold in Britain from 1976.
1955, Artificial diamonds were first made.
16 April 1943, Swiss chemist Albert Hoffman accidentally consumed some of
the new substance LSD he had made (see 7 April 1943), and experienced its
hallucinogenic properties. LSD became popular as a drug in the 1960s.
7 April 1943. The drug LSD (lysergic acid di-ethylamide)
was first synthesised by Swiss scientist Albert Hoffman.
30 March 1943, Silly Putty
was patented in the USA.
DDT
discovered
12 October 1965, Paul Muller, the Swiss
chemist who formulated the insecticide DDT
in 1939, died in Basle.
28
October 1948, Swiss chemist Paul Muller was
awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
for his discovery of DDT.
1939, DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane, (ClC6H5)2CHCHCl2)
was discovered by Swiss chemist Paul Muller. It was used to control
malaria-spreaidng insects but they developed resistance. DDT persists in the
environment is is now banned in most countries.
12 January 1899, Paul Muller,
the Swiss
chemist who formulated DDT, was
born.
12 December 1939, �Nylon, the new synthetic fibre developed by Wallace
Carothers of DuPont, went into commercial production at the
company�s new Seaford Plant, Delaware, USA.
1 July 1939, Teflon was patented by Roy Plunkett,
USA.
6 April 1938. Teflon was accidentally invented by US lab
assistant Jack Rebok. He opened a gas
cylinder of freon (tetrafluorothylene) and no gas came out; however the
cylinder was still heavy. Upon inspection, the gas had polymerised into a
greasy white powder. During World War Two, Teflon, being extremely inert, was
found to be the only material that would resist the corrosive effects of
uranium hexafluoride, a key chemical in the construction of the atom bomb;
hence Teflon became a military secret. In 1960 it began to be used on non-stick
pans, although initial problems with the non-stick coating not adhering tp the
pan had to be overcome. It now has uses in coating buildings to prevent
corrosion, as electrical insulation, a flame retardant, and in artificial body
joints.
24 February 1938, Manufacture began of the first
commercially produced nylon product,
toothbrush bristles, by DuPont in their Arlington, New Jersey, plant.
1933, ICI chemist R.O.Gibson
produced polyethylene, the polymer of ethylene gas. An easily-moulded white
inert water-resistant solid insulator, it was marketed as �polythene�. It was used for electric cable insulation. In 1938 Tupperware was produced from this
plastic.
1932, Deuterium, heavy hydrogen, was discovered by Harold Urey. In nature about 1
in 6,500 hydrogen atoms is deuterium.
4 April 1932. Vitamin C
was isolated by Charles
Glen King, professor of chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh.
1930, CFCs (chloro-fluoro-carbons) were
invented by Thomas
Midgley.
8 September 1918, Derek Harold Richard Barton was born in
Gravesend, England. In 1949 he started research on the shape of complex organic
chemical molecules, and how this shape affected their chemical properties.
1916, British chemist G N Lewis
developed a valency theory, which
was later also stated independently by Kossel.
29 March 1915,. Stainless
Steel was patented by Harry Brearley (1871-1948), of Sheffield, UK.
Such steel must contain at least 132% chromium, and also be less than 1%
carbon.Nickel is also added to improve the steel.
16 February 1913, First use of the word �isotope�, denoting two or more atomic forms of the same elemen, by Frederick Soddy
20 August 1913. Harry Brearley of Sheffield cast the first stainless steel. It is an alloy of
chromium and steel, and does not rust or tarnish. By 1917 it was being used for
household ware such as kitchen sinks.
1 February 1913, Formica was patented, initially as a
substitute �for-mica�. Mica being used for electrical insulation. Formica is
made by compressing layers of paper impregnated with phenolic acid. Formica
initially was always black or brown, but in the 1920s coloured versions became
available, and were used for �modern� furniture coverings. It was easy to clean
and water-resistant.
1912, In the USA, the Corning Glass Company discovered that
adding 10-15% boron oxide to glass gave it a much lower coefieient of thermal
expansion, making it heat resistant. This Pyrex glass was useful for cooko9ng
utensils and chemical lab glassware.
17 June 1912. Discovery of the production of synthetic rubber on a commercial scale.
2 April 1910. Karl
Hoffman, German
scientist, made artificial rubber
from butadiene.
2 July 1909, Fritz Haber succeeded in sustaining his ammonia production process for 5 hours,
proving that it could produce commercial quantities of ammonia.
29 May 1909, Soren Sorenson devised the Ph scale, as the
negative logarithm of the concentration of Hydrogen ions, as a measure oof
acidity.
1908, Fritz Haber invented a process
for the manufacture of ammonia from
hydrogen and nitrogen, important for fertiliser.
1908, Cellophane was first produced when Swiss chemist Dr Jacques
Brandenburger used regenerated celluloise to make a thin plastic
sheet. Cellophane was first made commercially in Paris from 1912.
29 February 1908, Onnes, a Dutch scientist in Leyden, announced he had liquefied helium.
13 July 1907, Leo Baekeland patented his new plastic, Bakelite, with the US Patent Office.
He was searching for
an artificial substitute for shellac, which was then the only insulating
coating for electrical wires. He mixed phenol with formaldehyde to obtain his
new substance.
10 December 1901. Nobel
prize first awarded. Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel had invented a
powerful new explosive, called dynamite. He thought that, if two armies could
annihilate each other in an instant, war would become impractical, an idea
similar to the MAD (Mutual Assured Destruction) concept that kept the peace during
the Cold War of the 1950s, 60s and 70s. Nobel made a fortune from his new
explosive and when he died in 1896 he left most of that fortune to a Foundation
to award prizes annually to those who in the preceding year have most
benefitted mankind. The first Nobel Prize was worth US$ 30,000. They are
awarded in Stockholm and Oslo, in the categories of literature, chemistry,
physics, medicine and peace. The first ever Nobel Prize was shared between Jean Henri
Dunant (founder of the Red Cross) and Frederic Passy (founder of the
French Society for the Friends of Peace).
1900,
The idea for cellophane was born
when Swiss
textile engineer Jacques Brandenberger was sat in a restaurant and someone
spilled wine on a tablecloth. Brandenberger decided to develop a clear
flexible film that could be sprayed onto fabric to make it waterproof. His
first attempt, a mix of cellulose and glycerol, simply peeled off the fabric in
large clear sheets; by 1912 Brandenberger had found a use for his product
as the eyepieces in gas masks. He called the transparent sheets �cellophane�.
DuPont bought the rights to the product in 1923, and by 1926 had developed a
waterproof version that could be used to wrap and preserve food.
1899, Nickel Carbonyl, Ni(CO)4, was disocvered by German chemist Ludwig Mond (1839-1909)
1898, Johann Hans Goldschmidt, born in
Berlin, Germany, 18 January 1861, developed thermite, a mixture of aluminium powder and iron or chromium that
burns at very high temperatures. It leaves a residue of pure iron or chromium,
and is used in welding.
1890, Acridine, C₁₃H₉N,
a coal tar derivative used in drugs and dye manufacture, was first isolated by Carl Graebe
and H Caro.
1887, Hydrazine, H2N-NH2,
was first prepared by Curtius.
1881, Citric acid, C3H4(OH)
(CO.OH)3 was first artificially
suythesised by Grimeaux
and Adam.
1879,
Saccharine �was discovered by Ira Remsen and Constantin
Fahlberg. It was found to be 300x sweeter than sugar.
22 December 1877. Liquid oxygen was made for the first time, in Geneva.
Mendeleev, Periodic Table
7 January 1871, Mendeleev
announced that the gaps in his Periodic Table represented undiscovered elements.
These elements were discovered in 1875, 1879 and 1885, making Mendeleev
famous.
6
March 1869, Dmitri
Mendeleev, Russian scientist (1834-1907), published his first
version of the Periodic Table.
By grouping the 63-then-known elements
by properties, it was now possible to see where gaps existed and new elements
awaited discovery. Mendelev predicted the discovery of
a further 8 elements from his Table.
15 June 1869, A thermoplastic called celluloid, a technically-improved version of the plastic invented
by the British
chemist Alexander
Parkes, was patented by American inventor John Wesley Hyatt of Albany, New
York.
1868, Indole, C8H7N, was first synthesised by A Baeyer.
14 July 1868,
Dynamite was first tested in Sweden;
it was invented by Alfred
Nobel.
9 January 1868,
Soren Peter
Lauritz Sorensen, Danish chemist, was born in
Javreberg. In 1909 he introduced pH as a measure of acidity and alkalinity.
1867, Carbonyl oxysulphide, COS, was first prepared
by C Than.
1866, The formula of ozone was proved by Soret
to be O3.
1865, Hydroxlamine, or hydroxyl-ammonia, NH2OH,
was first prepared by WC Lossen.
24 October 1865, Nobel was granted a patent in the USA for his
new invention of dynamite.
1863, The explosive Trinitrotoluene,
TNT, was first synthesised by the German chemist J Wilbrand. Semtex is a modern
version of TNT.
19 December 1863. Frederick Walton of London patented linoleum.
1862,
Acetylene, C2H2,
was discovered by Berthelot.
From the 1880s, it was much used for generating light.
Artificial
dyes 1856-97
With artificial chemical dyes,
a huge range of products became possible, These
included colourful clothing, postage stamps, colour
films, eye-catching posters, and bright wallpaper. By 1914 Germany
had taken the lead in dyestuffs from Britain, and in 1914 only 20% of dyes used in
Britain were made domestically. This posed problems in dyeing military uniforms
in World
War One.
1897, Synthetic indigo came on
sale commercially.
1887, Primuline yellow dye was
first prepared by Green.
1884, Congo red dye, the first
dye that would colour cotton directly, was discovered by Bottiger.
1878, Metrhylene green dye,
derived from methylene blue (1876) was discovered by Fischer.
1876, Methylene blue dye was
discovered by Caro.
1875, London orange dye was first
synthesised.
1871, Alizarin Red dye was first
synthesised.
1864, Dahlia Pink, Perkin�s Green, and Manchester, or Bismark, Brown dyes were first synthesised.
1863, Aniline Yellow and Aniline Black
dyes were first synthesised.
1862, Bleu de Lyon dye was first
synthesised.
1860, Violet Imperial dye was
first synthesised.
1858, August Wilhelm von
Hofmann synthesised the artificial dye magenta, from coal tar. It was named
magenta in 1857 by the French after they defeated the Italians at the Battle of
Magenta.
1856, The frst artificial dye, aniline purple, was synthesised. This started a fashion
craze for the colour in England.
1860, German chemists Robert Wilhelm von Bunsen and Gustav Kirchoff discovered that each element emits a characteristic wavelength of
light. This was the start of spectrum analysis.
1858, Italian chemist Stanislao Cannizzaro differentiated the atomic weight and molecular weight of an element.
17 October 1855, Henry
Bessemer patented a
steel-making process.
10 May 1855, The Bunsen
Burner was invented by German chemist Robert Wilhelm Bunsen.
1854, Ethyl isocynate, C2H5NCO, was first
prepared by A Wurtz.
1852, English chemist Edward
Frankland developed the idea of chemical
valence; that two elements combine only in fixed proportions.
1845, The explosive Nitrocellulose was invented; in 1847 Nitroglycerine was invented. They are both
explosive but too unstable for normal use.
1845, In Britain, the Royal College of Chemistry was founded.
1844, Wurtz first prepared copper hydride, CuHn.
1841, Jons Jakob Berzelius discovered allotropy,
where the same chemical element exists in two or more different firms.
24 February 1841, Karl James Peter Graebe was born in Frankfurt am Main. He discovered the
structure of the alizarin molecule
in 1868, a natural dye. This meant it could now be synthesised from coal tar,
which was done in 1869.
1839, Ozone, O3, was discovered and named by German-Swiss
chemist Christian
F Schonbein (1799-1868)
1838, French
chemist Frederic
Kuhmann succeeded in preparing nitric
acid HNO3 by the catalytic oxidation of ammonia
gas NH3,
using platinum as a catalyst. However when the German chemist Carl Bosch
(1874-1940) discovered a replacement catalyst made of iron, bismuth and
manganese, then nitric acid production could be done on an industrial scale.
This facilitated the large scale production of nitrates for fertiliser,
replacing nitrates imported from Chile.
25 August 1837, Henry William Crawford of London patented a process for galvanising iron.
1836, Edmund Davy discovered acetylene, C2H2,
a gas that burns at a very high temperature and can also be used to make
artificial rubber.
1835, Jean Baptiste Andre Dumas and Euhgene
Melchior Peligot prepared methyl
alcohol, CH3OH.
1833, German chemist Karl Reichenbach discovered
creosote.
1832, Eilhardt Mitscherlich
prepared nitrobenzene in the
laboratory.
Sulphuric
acid
1831, A methof of making
sulphuric acid was patented by Peregrine Phillips, a Bristol vinegar
merchant. Sulphur or metal sulphides were heated in air to make sulphur
dioxide, which was mixed with oxygen and passed over a catalyst to make sulphur
trioxide. This was then added to water to make sulphuric acid.
1811, German-Russian chemist Gottlieb Sigismund Constantin Kirchhoff,
born Teterow (Germany) 19 February 17564, prepared glucose by heating starch with sulphuric acid.
1746, The lead chamber process for making sulphuric acid, H2SO4,was invented by John Roebuck
of Sheffield, UK.
1270, The False Geber (writing under the
name of Geber,
an alchemist of 5 centuries earlier), described �oil of vitriol�, or sulphuric acid, H2SO4. The acid
was prepared by heating sulphates, especially ferrous sulphate (which looked
like fragments of green glass, hence its name, green vitriol) and passing the
fumes into water.
1831, Jons Jakob Berzelius discovered isomerism.
This is the phenomenon where two or more compounds exist with the same
proportion ot atoms but with different strtuctural arrangements and properties.
1831, Robiquet and Colin discovered
the red dye alizarin.
1830, Permanganate acid, HMnO₄, was first obtained by German chemist Eilhard Mitscherlich
(1794-1863)
1827, Selenous acid,� H2SeO3, was first obtained by German chemist Eilhard
Mitscherlich (1794-1863)
1826, Urea, also known as carbamide, CO(NH2)2, was first
artificially synthesised by Wohler.
1825, Benzene, C6H6,
was discovered by Faraday.
1823, Michael Faraday liquefied chlorine. This was soluble in water, and found applications
in cleaning, water purification and warfare,
1822, GS Serullas
discovered Iodoform, CHI3. It is an
antiseptic.
1822, Leopold Gmelin
discovered potassium ferricyanide, K3 [Fe(CN) 6]
1819, French chemists Pierre Louis Dulong and Alexis Therese Petit formulated the rule that the product of the
relative atomic weight and the specific heat of any element is constant.
1819, John Kidd, born
London, 10 September 1775, derived naphthalene,
C10H8, from coal tar.
1818, Strychnine was discovered by French
chemists Pierre
Joseph Pelletier (1788-1842) and Bienaime Caventou (1795-1877)
1818, Louis Jacques Thenard,
born in La Louptiere, France, 4 May 1777, discovered hydrogen
peroxide, H2O2.
1816, Andrew Ure, born Scotland 18 May 1778
,invented the alkalimeter.
1815, Cyanogen, C2N2,
was first prepared by Gay-Lussac.
1815, English chemist William Prout hypothesised that the atomic weight
of any element vas a whole number multiple of the atomic weight of hydrogen.
This became a useful tool in the clasification of elements.
1812, Nitrogen Chloride, NCl3, was
first prepared by Pierre Dulong. It is a sensitive and explosive
substance, and several chemists, including Dulong himself, have been injured din
explosions caused by it.
1812, Carbonyl Chloride, COCl2, phosgene, was first prepared by John Davy.
It was used for dye production.
1811, Jons Jakob Berzelius developed
the modern system of chemical notations.
1808, Gay-Lussac formulated the Law of Volumes,
of reacting gases.
1807, Jons Jakob Berzelius
first classified chemicals as either organic or inorganic.
1807, Jean Antoine Claude Chaptal,
born Nogaret, France, 4 June 1756, published the first book on industrial
chemistry.
1803, Dalton formulated his Atomic Theory of
Matter. This stated that matter is made of minute indestructible
particles called atoms, which were all identical.
12 May 1803, Justus von Liebig, German chermist and pioneer
in organic chemistry, biochemistry and agricultural chemistry, was born in
Darmstadt, Germany (died 1873)
1802, Charles
Law was formulated � with constant pressure, the volume of a gas is
proportional to its temperature, or V = T.k.
1801, Daltons
Law of Partial Pressures was formulated � the total pressure of a
mixture of gases is equal to the sum of the partial pressures of all the
constituent gases.
9 April 1800, Humphrey Davy
(born 17 December 1778 in Penzance, England) discovered nitrous oxide, N2O, also
known as laughing gas.
1799, Antoine
Francois isolated urea, CO(NH2)2.
1799, Laws
of Chemical Affinity announced by Bertholet.
This stated that elements in a compound always combined in definite fixed
proportions.
1796, Carbon disulphide, CS2, was first prepared by W A Lampadius, by
heating a mixture of charcoal and pyrites.
20 July 1795, Jean Guimet,
French industrial chemist, was born (died 8 April 1871). In 1828 he won an
award for inventing artificial
ultramarine, as a substititue for the ultramarine prepared from lapis
lazuli.
1794, Ethylene, C2H4,was prepared by a group of Dutch
chemists.
1793, The first chemical society was established, in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1787, Bertholet discovered the composition of ammonia NH3,
hydrogen sulphide H2S and prussic
acid HCN.
1784, Karl William Scheele first obtained citric acid, C3H4(OH)
(CO.OH)3 in a soild state
1783, Scheele
discovered glycerine, C3H8O3.
1783, Philippe
Gegembre (1764-1838) first synthesised phosphine, PH3.
1783, Nicholas
Leblanc (born Issoudun, France, 6 December 1742) won a prize offered
by the French Government for finding a practical way to make sodium hydroxide NaOH and sodium carbonate Na2CO3
from common salt. Due to the French revolution the prize money was never paid,
but the Leblanc Process did make
possible the large scale production of soap.
25 June 1783, Lavoisier announced that water, H2O
was the combustion product of oxygen and hydrogen, in proportions 2 hydrogen to 1 oxygen. He began to pioneer the new science of
quantitative chemistry, the notion that fixed proportions of elements combined
to maker a specific compound.
1782, Lavoisier
observed that total weight does not change in chemical reactions, establishing
the first version of the Law of
Conservation of Matter.
1782, Prussic acid (hydrogen cyanide, HCN)
prepared by Scheele.
1781, Scheele
discovered calcium tungstate, CaWO4; the mineral is now named Scheelite after
him. However he did not recognise tungsten as a new element.
1780, Scheele
discovered lactic acid, CH₃CHCO₂H.
1778, Alessandro
Volta, studying inflammable air from marshes, discovered methane, CH4.
4 May 1777, Louis Jacques
Thenard, French chemist, was born in Aube (died 21 June 1857 in
Paris)
1776, Scheele and Bergman independently discovered
uric acid, C5H4N4O3.
1776, �Inflammable air�, or carbon monoxide, CO, was
prepared by Lassone.
1774, Karl
Wilhelm Scheele discovered formic
acid, HCOOH
1772, Joseph
Priestley discovered a method of producing sulphur dioxide, SO2.
1772, Joseph Priestley discovered nitric oxide, NO,
subsequently reducing it to nitrous
oxide, N2O. He also, this year, succeeded in
isolating ammonia NH3 by collecting it over mercury;
previously ammonia had only known in aqueous solution.
1 November 1772, The French chemist Lavoisier announced that sulphur
and phosphorus, when burned, gained weight because they had �absorbed air�;
similarly metallic lead prepared from litharge lost weight because it had �lost
air�. The nature of this �air� was found to be oxygen in 1774 by Joseph
Priestley.
1771, Picric Acid,
trinitrophenol, (O₂N)₃C₆H₂OH, was
first discovered. In 1885 Turpin poatented its use as an explosive for
shells.
1770, Karl Wilhelm Scheele discovered tartaric acid, HO2CCH(OH)CH(OH)CO2H.
1765, German chemist Karl Wilhelm
Scheele (born Stralsund 19 December 1742) discovered prussic acid,or
hydrogen cyanide, HCN.
1755,
�Fixed air� or carbon dioxide, CO2,
was prepared from chalk by Joseph Black (born 15 April 1728 in Bordeuax, France,
died 1799).
1754,
Alkalis, metals, earths and bases
were defined by Rouelle.
1704, Newton
showed that diamonds will burn in air.
1702, Wilhelm Homberg
�(1652-1715) discovered boric acid, B(OH)3.
1702, Stahl burned sulphur in air to
produce �volatile sulphurous acid�, or sulphur
dioxide, SO2.
1695, Nehemiah Grew isolated magnesium sulphate MgSO4.H2O,
known as Epsom Salts, from spring water.
1680, Boyle defined the term �salt� in chemistry.
1680, Irish scientist Robert Boyle discovered that
phosphorus and sulphur burst into flames if rubbed together. This was the basis
for the first matches, invented 150 years later.
1670, The �Phlogiston� theory of combustion was developed by
Becher and Stahl.
1662, Boyle�s Law was formulated � with constant
temperature, the volume of a gas varies inversely with the pressure on it, or V
= 1/P.k.
1661, Boyle concieved of the modern idea of a �chemical element�.
6 May 1635, German
alchemist Johann
Joachim Speyer was born.
25 July 1615, Andreas
Libavius, Grman alchemist, died in Coburg, Bavaria.
1610, The first textbook on chemistry, Tyrocinium Chymicum, was published by French scientist Jean Beguin.
Alchemy becomes chemistry
1602, Vincenzio Casarido discovered barium sulphide, BaS.
1597, The work Alchemia
by Andreas Libavius described the preparation of hydrochloric acid, HCl, tin tetrachloride
SnCl4, and ammonium sulphate (NH4)2SO4.
1540, Ether was first produced
from alcohol and sulphuric acid.
1317, Pope John XXII banned the
practice of alchemy.
The pursuit of Alchemy, a rich man�s hobby in the Middle
Ages, was based upon the theory that there were four �elements�; earth, air,
fire and water, and that the perfect combination of these four would produce gold.
Alchemists therefore sought to add or drive off various �elements� to achieve
this �perfect balance�, by boiling, grinding liquefying, dissolving, heating ,
burning� and vapourising various
substances. In doing so they acquired valuable practical experience that laid
the foundations of modern chemistry. For example
the major acids, such as nitric, sulphuric and hydrochloric, also solvents such
as alcohol, were discovered and used by alchemists to break down compounds.
Alchemists also sought the �Philospher�s Stone� � a
substance that could transmute all other materials into gold.
In China, alchemists sought the Elixir of Life, and used
substances such as mercury to preserve the dead; hoping that such preservation
from decay of cospses might also lead to how to preserve the living from death.
In India, alchemy was linked to seeking cures for diseases, and astrology had a
strong influence because the planets were believed to govern health, as well as
have an effect on chemical reactions.
6 September
1311, Arnold of Villanova, Spanish alchemist, died
near Genoa, Italy
755, Arab alchemist Abu Musa Jabir
ibn Haryan, also known as Geber, born Iraq ca. 721, described how to
prepare aluminium chloride, AlCl3, white lead (basic lead carbonate, 2PbCO. 3� Pb(OH)2) , nitric acid, HNO3, and acetic acid, CH3COOH. �
Appendix 1 � Discovery of the elements (first isolated in pure form)
Noble Gases
Halogens, Other Non-metals, Metalloids
Alkali metals, Alkali Earth metals
As of 2019, no element beyond number.118 has been synthesised.
12/2015, The synthesis of element 115, Ununpentium, was recognised as having been
accomplished by the Joint Institute of Nuclear Research, Dubna, USSR. The
element has not yet been officially named.
2010,
The synthesis of element 117, Tennessine, was recognised as having been
accomplished by the Joint Institute of Nuclear Research, Dubna, USSR.
2006,
The The officially-recognised synthesis of element 118, Oganesson, at the Joint
Institute of Nuclear Research, Dubna, USSR.
2004,
The officially-recognised synthesis of element 113, Nihonium, at RIKEN, Japan.
19 July 2000, The The officially-recognised
synthesis of element 116, Livermorium, at the Joint Institute of Nuclear
Research, Dubna, USSR.
12/1998, The The officially-recognised synthesis of element 114, Flerovium, at
the Joint Institute of Nuclear Research, Dubna, USSR.
1996,
The officially-recognised synthesis of element 112, Copernicium, at the Institute
for Heavy Ion Research, Darmstadt, Germany.
1994,
The officially-recognised synthesis of element 111, Roentgenium, at the Institute
for Heavy Ion Research, Darmstadt, Germany.
1994,
The officially-recognised synthesis of element 110, Darmstadtium, at the Institute
for Heavy Ion Research, Darmstadt, Germany.
1984,
The officially-recognised synthesis of element 108, Hassium at the Institute for Heavy
Ion Research, Darmstadt, Germany.
29 August 1982, The officially-recognised
synthesis of element 109, Meitnerium at the Institute for Heavy Ion
Research, Darmstadt, Germany.
1981,
The officially-recognised synthesis of element 107, Bohrium, at the Institute for
Heavy Ion Research, Darmstadt, Germany.
6/1974,
Element 106, now known as Seaborgium, was synthesised at the Joint
Institute of Nuclear Research, Dubna, USSR.
105th 1969,
The synthesis of Rutherfordium was confirmed at the University of Berkeley California.
1968,
Dubnium
was synthesised at the Joint Institute of Nuclear Research, Dubna, USSR.
1966,
After several false starts, Nobelium was synthesised at the Joint
Institute of Nuclear Research, Dubna, USSR.
14 February 1961, The synthesis of element Lawrencium
was confirmed at University of Berkeley California. It was named after the
inventor of the cyclotron, Ernest Lawrence.
1955,
Mendelevium
was synthesised at the University of Berkeley California.
100th 12/1952, Einstinium
was first identified by Albert Ghiorso and others at the University of Berkeley
California. It was found after a thermonuclear explosion.
1 November 1952, The new element Fermium
was first discovered in the fall-out from a nuclear test of a Hydrogen Bomb..
17 March 1950, Californium was announced to have been made at the University of Berkeley California
12/1949, Berkellium
was first synthesised at the University of Berkeley California by Glenn Seaborg, Albert
Ghiorso, and Stanley Thompson.
1945,
Promethium
was first synthesised at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, US, by Jacob Marinsky,
Lawrence
Geldenin and Charles Corvell, from the fission by-products
of uuranium.
95th 1944,
Americium
and Curium
were first identified at the University of Berkeley California by Glenn Seaborg, Leon Morgan,
Ralph James
and Albert
Ghiorso.
1940,
The first confirmed discovery of the element Astatine.
14 December 1940, Plutonium was first produced by Dr Glenn
Seaborg, Joseph Kennedy, Edwin McMillan and Arthur Wall
at the University of California, Berkeley.
8 June 1940, Neptunium was produced as a
fission product by Edwin McMillan at the Berkeley Radiation
Laboratory, California.
90th
1939, Francium was discovered by Marguerite
Peary at the Curie Institute, Paris.
12/1936,Technetium
was confirmed as a new element at the University of Palermo by Carlo Perrier
and Emilio
Segre.
1925,
Rhenium
was discovered by Walter Noddack, Ida Tacke and Otto Berg
in Germany.
1923,
Hafnium
was dscovered by Dirk Coster and Georg von Hevesy in Copenhagen, Denmark.
1923,
Lanthanum
was first isolated in pure form.
85th 1907,
Lutetium
was discovered independently by the French chemist Georges Urbain, the US chemist Charles James
and the Asutrian mineralogist Baron Carl Auer von Welsbach.
20 February 1907, Ferdinand Frederic Henri Moissan
died, probably as a result of his experiments with fluorine, see 1886.
1905,
Tantalum
was first isolated in pure form by Werner von Bolton. In 1902 an impure sample
had been prepared by Moissan.
1900,
Protactinium
was isolated by William
Crookes.
1900,
Radon was discovered by the German, Freidrich Ernst Dom.
1899,
Actinium
was discovered by the French chemist Andre-Louis Debierne.
80th 1898,
Xenon was discovered by William Ramsay and Morris Travers.
They also discovered Neon and Krypton
the same year.
Marie Curie;
discovery of Polonium, Radium
23 January 1911, Marie Curie, Nobel prize winner, was refused admission to the
all-male French Academy of Sciences. She went on to win a second Nobel prize.
7 September 1910, The first pure sample of radium
was isolated by Marie
Curie.
20 April 1902, Pierre and Marie Curie isolated �radium from the mineral
pitchblende. They were awarded the Nobel Prize in 1903 for their work on
radioactivity.
26 December 1898,The new element radium
was first identified, as radium chloride, by Marie and Pierre Curie. Pure radium
was first prepared by Marie Curie and Andre Louis Debierne in 1911.
18 July 1898, Polonium was
discovered by Marie and Pierre Curie in 1898, after samples of radium proved
more radioactive than expected. They named the metal after their native Poland
to highlight the lack of independence of that nation.
26 July 1895, Pierre Curie and Marie
Sklodowska married in Sceaux, France. In 1896 Marie began her doctoral thesis
on the radioactivity of uranium, and Pierre joined her in this research in
1898.Their daughter, Irene, was born in 1897.
7 November 1867. Marie Curie, who discovered
radium, was born in Warsaw, as Marie Sklodowska.
75th 1895,
Helium was discovered by two Swedish chemists, Per Teodor
Cleve and Nils Abraham Langlet. It was isolated from
radioactive minerals. The element has earlier been observed independently in
1868 by English astronomer Norman Lockyer and by French astronomer Pierre Jules Jansen through
spectroscopic pobservation of the Sun.
13/81894, Argon was
first discovered by British chemists Lord Rayleigh and Sir William Ramsey. It was the
first Noble Gas found. Atmospheric Nitrogen was found to be lightly denser, by
0.47%, than Nitrogen obtained from chemical reactions; this margin was beyond
experimental error. Therefore atmospheric Nitrogen had to contain some other
gas. Removing oxygen from the air (by passing over hot metallic Copper)and then
also remiving the Nitrogen (by passing over hot Magnesium) left an inert gas,
which was termed �Argon� meaning un-reactive. Subsequently, 120 tons of air was
liquefied and from the Argoin so obtained, the other inert gases Krypton, Xenon
and Neon were discovered.
1890,
Europium
was discovered by French chemist Paul Emile Lecoq de Boisbradan.
5 October 1889, Dirk Coster was born in
Amsterdam, the Netherlands. In 2923 he discovered, along with Gyorgy Hevesy,
the element Hafnium.
It was named after the Latin for Copenhagen, where the discovery was made.
70th 1886, Germanium
was discovered by Dr
Winkler (1838-1904). It was found in the mineral argyrodite,
in Frieburg, Germany.
1886, French chemist Paul Emile Lecoq de Boisbradan
isolated the new elements dysprosium
and� gadolinium.
26/61886,
Elemental fluorine
was first isolated by Ferdinand
Frederic Henri Moissan. He was born on 28 September 1852
in Paris, and died aged 54, probably poisoned by fluorine. Moissan received
the Nobel prize for this feat in 1906.
1885, Praseodymium
and Neodymium
were isolated by the Austrian chemist Baron Carl Auer von Welsbach.
1882, Elemental caesium
metal was isolated by German chemist Carl Setterberg. The metal was discovered
in 1860 by
its blue lines in spectroscopy.
65th 1879, Samarium was
discovered by the French chemist Paul Emile Lecoq de Boisbradan.
1879,
Scandium
was discovered.
1879,
Thulium
was discovered by the Swedish chemist Per Teodor Cleve.
1878.
Holmuim
was discovered by Marc Delafontaine and Jacques Louis Soret.
1878,
Ytterbium
was discovered by the Swiss chemist Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac.
60th 1875, Gallium was
discovered, by Mr Lecoq de
Boisbaudran (1838-1912).
1867, Vanadium was first
isolated by Roscoe.
1864, Indium was first
isolated in pure form by the German chemist Hieronymous Theodor Richter.
1864, Niobium was first
isolated by De Marignac.
1861, Thallium was
discovered by William
Crookes. It appeared as a bright green line in spectroscopy,
hence its name derived from thalliu, �green twig�.
55th 1861, Rubidium
was discovered by German chemists Robert
Bunsen and Gustav
Kirchhoff. It appeared as a red line in spectroscopy, hence its
name meaning �red�.
1 September
1858, Karl
Auer, later Baron
von Welsbach, was born in Vienna, Austria. In 1885 he discovered
that what was thought to be one chemical element was in fact two. He named
these neodymium
(�new twin) and praseodymium
(�green twin�) for the colour of its spectrum.
1844, Ruthenium was
officially discovered by Karl
Ernst Klaus, at Kazan University.
1843, Swedish chemist Carl Gustaf Mosander
discovered erbium
and� terbium in 1843.
1841, Uranium was first
isolated in pure form by French chemist Professsor Eugene Melchior Peligot (born 24
February 1811).
50th 1829, Thorium was
discovered by Berzelius.
1828, Yttrium was first
isolated by Friedrich
Wohler. It had first been discovered
in 1794 by Finnish chemist Johan Gadolin, and in the late 20th
century began to be used in colour televisions.
1828, Beryllium
was isolated independently by Freidrich
Wohler and by Antoine
Bussy.
1827, Aluminium was first
isolated by Friedrich
Wohler. Before the process of electrolytically isolating the
metal was discovered in 1886,
aluminium was so expensive it was used for jewellery, despite being the third
commonest element in the Earth�s crust.
1825, Bromine
was discovered by Carl
Jacob Lowig in 1825. Berzelius
coined the name halogens to describe
the elements Fluorine, Chlorine, Bromine and Iodine.
45th 1824, Zirconium was first
isolated by Berzelius.
Zirconium oxide, ZrO2, had been discovered in
1789 by Martin
Klaproth.
1817, Silicon
was first formally identified as a new element by the Scottish chemist Thomas Thomson.
In 1811 some impure silicon was first isolated by Gay-Lussac and Thenard, but not actually identified as
such. Pure silicon was first isolated in 1823.
1817, Lithium
was recognised as a new element by Johan
August Arfwedson.
1817, Cadmium, as an
element, was discovered in Germany simultaneously by Freidrich Stromeyer
and by Karl Samuel
Leberecht Hermann.
1817, Selenium
was discovered by Swedish chemists Jons
Jakob Berzelius and Johan
Gottlieb Gahn.
40th 1811, Iodine was discovered by French
chemist Bernard Courtois (1777-1838).
1808, Calcium
was first isolated in pure form by Sir
Humphrey Davy.������������
1808, Boron
was first isolated and recognised as an element by Sir Humphrey Davy.
1808, Barium
was first isolated as a new elememnt by Sir Humphrey Davy.
1808, Strontium
was isolated by Sir
Humphrey Davy
35th 1808, Magnesium metal was first isolated by
Sir Humphrey
Davy.
19 October 1807,
Elemental sodium metal was first isolated by Sir Humphrey Davy.
6 October 1807, Sir Humphrey
Davy discovered a new metal which he called potassium.
1803, Cerium
was discovered independently by both Martin Heinrich Klaproth of Germany and by Wilhelm
Hisinger and Jins Jakob Berzelius of Sweden.
1803, Rhodium
ws discovered by William Hyde Wollaston.
30th 1803, Osmium and iridium were discovered by Smithson Tennant
and William
Hyde Wollaston, in London, UK.
1802, Palladium
was discovered by William Hyde Wollaston.
1798, Chromium
metal was isolated by Louis Nicolas Vauquelin (born 61 May 1763). He
named it from its brightly-coloured compounds.
1791, Titanium was discovered in Cornwall by the
clergyman and amateur geologist William Gregor (born 25 December 1761).
25th 1789, Antoine Lavoisier listed carbon as an
element in his 1789 textbook. Carbon in the form of diamond was known in
China as early as 2,500 BC. Carbon as soot or charcoal has been known to
mankind since prehistoric times.
24th 1789, Tellurium was isolated by a
Hungarian scientist, Pal Kitaibel. However he gave the credit to Franz Joseph
Muller von Reichtenstein, Austrian Inspector of Mines, who had worked
for several years on some anomalous ore before determining the density and
other properties of the new element in 1785.
23rd 1783, Tungsten was first isolated in pure form by
the brothers Jose
and Fausto
Elhuyar (born 11 October 1755 in Logrono, Spain).
22nd 1781, Molybednum was first isolated by Peter Jacob
Hjelm (born 2 October 1746,in Sweden).
21st 1777, Antoine Lavoisier found that sulphur
is an element. Sulphur has been known since prehistoric times, being easily
available as surface deposits in volcanic areas.
20th 1774,Manganese was first isolated by Johan Gottleib
Gahn.
19th 1774, Chlorine was first
recognised as an element by the Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm. He reacted
hydrochloric acid HCl with manganese
dioxide MnO2. He called it �dephlogisticated
marine acid air�. In 1630 chlorine had been studied by the Flemish chemist Jan Baptist van
Helmont but he did not recognise it as a new element.
18th 1 August 1774,
British chemist
Sir Joseph
Priestley announced he had discovered oxygen.
17th 1772,
The Scottish physicist Daniel Rutherford is credited with the discovery of nitrogen
in 1772; he called it �noxious air�, although he did not at the time recognise
it as a separate element.
16th 1766,
Henry
Cavendish first recognised hydrogen as a separate substance,
calling it �inflammable air�. He went on to discover that the �inflammable air�
produced water when burnt. Hydrogen was goven its name by Antoine Lavoisier, meaning
�producer of water�, when he replicated Cavendish�s experiment of producing water by
burning hydrogen.
15th 1748,
Platinum
was recognised as an element by Charles Wood of the UK and Antonio de Ulloa of Spain.
Hiowever for several centuries before that platinum had been recognised as a
sometimes unwelcome adulterant of gold.
14th
1735, Cobalt, whose compounds have been used to
colour glass blue for over 4,000 years (and feared by miners because it was
always associated with arsenic, whose oxide was poisonous), was proved to be a
separate element by Swedish chemist Georg Brandt.
1669,
Phosphorus (the 13th
element to be recognised as such) was discovered by the German alchemist Hennig Brand,
during experiments distilling urine. The substance glows in the dark, and its
name derives from the Latin for �morning star�.
12th
1546, Bismuth was mentioned by Agricola in De Natura Fossilium; however the metal has been knwn since well
before 0 AD, albeit sometimes confused with tin and lead.
11th 1540,
A procedure for isolating antimony was written down
in the book De la Pirotechnica, by Vannoccio
Biringuccio. However antimony and its compounds have been used by
mankind since before 3,000 BC.
10th
1374, Zinc, in use in brass items since as early as 1400
BC, was first named specifically in the Jasada, a medical dictionary ascribed
to the Hindu King
Madanapala.
9th 1250,
Arsenic, in use since at least 1,000 BC, was first isolated
in pure form by Albertus
Magnus.
8th 600 BC, Pure tin
began to be used. Tin as an alloy with copper, bronze, has been in use from 3600 BC.
6th 7th 1500 BC, Mercury artefacts found in
Egyptian tombs dating from this time. Meanwhile nickel (white copper) was known
in China from about this time. Mediaeval German miners encountered ore that
looked like copper ore but gave no copper, and named it after a mischievous
sprite, �nickel�, analogous to the name �old Nick� for the Devil.
5th
3500 BC Iron artefacts found originating
from this time. Iron was much tougher than copper or bronze, but required much
higher temperatures to smelt and forge it.
3rd,
4th 4000 BC, Gold artefacts found dating from
this time. Silver
useage also dated back to this time.
2nd
7000 BC Lead began to be used widely
across the world. Lead and tin, both malleable and both reasonably abundant and
easily mined, were used together and sometimes interchangeably.
1st 9000 BC, Copper
in use by mankind. By 5000 BCE, copper was being smelted in Persia from
malachite. Howevet the metal was too soft to keep an edge, for knives; by 3600
BCE copper was being mixed with 5% to 20% tin to make bromze, a much tougher metal.
Appendix 2 � Famous chemists born, died.
5 November 2015, Pierre Maurice Gy, French chemist, died (born
25 July 1924).
8 January 1997, Melvin Calvin, US chemist and Nobel prize
winner, died.
29 May 1987, John Howard Northrop, chemist and Nobel prize
winner, died.
8 July 1979, Robert Burns Woodward, US chemist, died in
Cambridge, Massachusetts.
7 June 1978, Ronald George Norrish, English chemist, died
in Cambridge.
5 October 1976, Lars Onsanger, Norwegian-US chemist, died in
Coral Gables, Florida, USA.
26 September 1976, Leopold Stephen Ruzicka, Croatian-Swiss
chemist, died in Zurich, Switzerland.
18 June 1971, Paul Karrer, Swiss chemist, died in Zurich.
28 July 1968, Otto Hahn, German physical chemist, died in
Gottingen.
27 March 1967, Jaroslav Heyrovsky, physical chemist, died in
Prague.
8 September 1965, Hermann Staudinger, German chemist, died in
Freiburg am Breisgau.
6 November 1964, Hans von Euler-Chelpin, German-born chemist,
died aged 91.
20 June 1958, Kurt Alder, chemist, Nobel prize winner, died.
24 January 1957, Paul Walden, Russian-German chemist, died in
Gammertingen, Germany.
24 March 1956, Willem Hendrik Keeson, Dutch physicist who
explored the properties of� liquid helium
and even produced solid helium, died in Oegstgeest.
7 March 1954, Otto Paul
Hermann, German chemist, died in Kiel.
12 August 1946, Alfred Stock, German chemist, died in
Karlsruhe.
12 February 1939, Soren Peter
Lauritz Sorensen, Danish chemist, died in Copenhagen.
15 April 1935, Charles Frederick Cross, English chemist, died
in Hove, Sussex.
29 January 1934, Fritz Haber, German chemist, died in Basel,
Switzerland.
13 December 1930, Fritz Pregl, Austrian chemist, died in Graz.
6 August 1930, Joseph Achille le Bel, French chemist, died in
Paris.
1 February 1928. In the USA, Dr Herbert Evans discovered vitamin E.
5 July 1927, Karl Martin Leonhard Albrecht Kossel, German
biochemist, was born in Heidelberg.
3 December 1924, Louis Marie Hilaire Bernigaud, comte de
Chardonnet, French chemist, died in Paris.
25 July 1924, Pierre Maurice Gy, French
chemist, was born in Paris (died 5 November 2015).
26 May 1922, Ernest Solvay, Belgian chemist, died in
Brussels.
6 December 1920, George Porter, English chemist, was born in
Stainforth.
15 July 1919, Emil Hermann Fischer, German chemist, died in
Berlin.
30 June 1919, Lord Rayleigh, British scientist who discovered the
inert gas argon
in 1894 and won the Nobel prize, died in Witham, Essex, aged 76.
23 July 1916, Sir William Ramsey, chemist who discovered helium,
and isolated neon,
krypton,
and xenon,
died in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire.�
He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1904.
27 December 1914, Charles Martin Hall, US chemist, died in
Daytona Beach, Florida.
12 May 1910, Dorothy Hodgkin, British chemist, was born
(died 1994).
11 December 1909, Ludwig Mond, British chemist, died (born 7
March 1839).
14 July 1907, Sir William Henry Perkin, English chemist,
died in Sudbury, Middlesex.
18 October 1906, Friedrich Konrad Beilstein, Russian chemist,
died in St Petersburg.
11 February 1904, Russian chemist Vladimir Markovnikov died in
Moscow.
4 February 1903, Alexander Imich, US chemist, was born in
Czestochowa (died 2014)
10 August 1902, Arne Wilhelm Tiselius, Swedish chemist, was
born in Stockholm.
10 July 1902, Kurt Alder, German chemist, was born.
23 December 1901, Sir Joseph Gilbert, English chemist, died
(born 1 August 1817).
1 April 1901, Francois Marie Raoult, French physical
chemist, died in Grenoble, Isere.
10 February 1901, German chemist Max Joseph von Petenkofer died
near Munich.
9 August 1899, Sir Edward Frankland, English
chemist, died (born 18 January 1825).
20 April 1899, Charles Friedel, French chemist,
died (born 12 March 1832).
29 July 1898, John Alexander Newlands, English chemist, died
in London.
15 March 1898, Sir Henry Bessemer,
inventor of a process for converting cast iron into steel in 1856, died aged
85.
26 June 1897, Paul Schutzenberger, French
chemist, died in Seine et Oise (born 23 December 1829 in Strassburg)
11 June 1897, Karl Fresenius, German chemist, died (born 28
December 1818).
10 December 1896. Alfred Bernhardt Nobel, Swedish chemist who
invented dynamite, died in San Remo, Italy. See 14 July 1867.
3 November 1896, Eugen Baumann, German chemist, died in
Frieburg.
15 April 1894, Swiss chemist Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac
died (born 24 April 1817). He researched on atomic weights and isotopes, and
explored the chemistry of the rare earths.
13 December 1891, Jean Servais Stas, Belgian chemist who
determined a number of atomic weights, died in Brussels (born 21 August 1813 in
Louvain)
9 April 1889, Michel Chevreul, chemist, died (born 31 August
1786)
2 January 1889, Roger Adams, US chemist, was born.
26 November 1885, Thomas Andrews, Irish chemist, died (born 19
December 1813 in Belfast)
14 January 1885, Benjamin Silliman, US chemist, died in New
Haven (born 4 December 1816 in New Haven)
19 January 1878, Henri Victor Regnault, French
chemist, died in Auteuil.
2 September 1877, Frederick Soddy,
chemist, was born.
5 May 1877, Joseph Bienaime Caventou, French chemist, died
in Paris.
10 October 1876, Deville Saint Claire, French
chemist, died in Paris (born 11 March 1818 in St Thomas, West Indies)
21 June 1876, Willem Hendrik Keesom, Dutch physicist, was born in Texel,
Netherlands. He solidified helium,
which can only be achieved at high pressures and low temperatures.
30 April 1876, Antoine Balard, chemist, died in Paris ( born
in Montpellier, France, 30 September 1802)
24 October 1873, Frederick Calvert, English chemist, died (born
14 November 1819).
10 April 1873, Justus von Liebig, German chemist,
died.
8 April 1871, Jean Guimet, French industrial chemist, died
(born 20 July 1795). In 1828 he won an award for inventing artificial ultramarine, as a substitute for the ultramarine
prepared from lapis lazuli.
4 April 1870, Heinrich Magnus, German chemist,
died (born 2 May 1802).
16 September 1869, Thomas Graham, British chemist, died (born 20
December 1805).
9 January 1869, Richard Wilhelm Heinrich Abegg, German
chemist, was born in Danzig (now Gdansk, Poland). He showed that the outer
electron shell of an atom determines its chemical properties.
29 August 1868, Christian Schonbein, German chemist, died near
Baden Baden (born 18 October 1799 in Swabia)
27 November
1867, Thomas
Clark, Scottish chemist, died (born 31 January 1801).
1 June 1867, Theophile
Jules Pelouze, French chemist, died in Paris (born
February 1807 in Valognes, Normandy)
11 February 1866, William Brande,
English chemist, died in Tunbridge Wells (born in London 11 January 1788).
12 October 1865, Arthur Harden,
chemist, was born.
4 November 1864, Benjamin Silliman, US chemist,
died in New Haven (born 8 August 1779 in Connecticut)
6 December 1863, Charles M Hall, who discovered in 1887 a means
to make aluminium from alumina using electric power, was born in Thompson,
Ohio.
14 November 1863, Leo Baekeland,
US chemist who invented Bakelite, an
early plastic, was born in Ghent, Belgium.
28 August 1863, Eilhardt
Mitscherlich, German chemist, died (born 7
January 1794).
21 June 1857, Louis
Jacques Thenard, French chemist, died in Paris (born
4 May 1777 in Aube)
19 August 1856, Charles Frederic Gerhardt,
chemist, died.
9 March 1856, Edward Goodrich Acheson was born in Washington,
Pennsylvania, USA. In 1891 he discovered a process for making
carborundum (silicon carbide, SiC), a material almost as hard as diamond.
15 April 1854, Arthur Aikin, English
chemist, died in London (born 19 May 1773 in
Warrington).
21 September 1853, Heike Kammerlingh was born in Groningen, Netherlands. In 1908 he liquefied helium.
2 September 1853, Wilhelm Ostwald, chemist, was born.
13 April 1853, Leopold Gmelin, German chemist, died (born
1788).
12 March 1853, Mathieu Orfila, French chemist, died in Paris
(born in Minorca 24 April 1787)
2 October 1852, Lord Ramsay, who discovered the inert gases,
was born in Glasgow.
28 September 1852, Henri
Moussan, French chemist, was born (died 20
February 1907)
30 August 1852, Jacobus
Hendricus Van�t Hoff, Dutch chemist, was born in
Rotterdam
9 April 1850, William Prout, English chemist, died in
London� (born 15 January 1785 in Horton,
Gloucestershire)
24 March 1849, Johann Dobereiner, German chemist, died (born
15 December 1780).
8 September 1848, Viktor Meyer, German organic chemist, was born in
Berlin.
7 August 1848, Jons Berzelius, chemist, died in Stockholm
13 March 1845, John Daniell, English chemist,
died (born 12 March 1790).
24 July 1843, Sir William Abney, English chemist, was born
in Derby (died in Folkestone 3 December 1920).
15 September 1839, Georg Lunge,
Germen chemist, was born.
7 March 1839, Ludwig Mond,
British chemist, was born (died 11 December 1909).
1 October 1838, Charles Tennant,
Scottish industrial chemist, died (born in Ayrshire 3 May 1768)
16 April 1838, Ernst Solvay
was born in Rebecq, Belgium. In 1861 he discovered a method for
manufacturing sodium carbonate
from salt water, ammonia and
carbon dioxide which was much more economical than earlier methods.
12 March 1838, Sir Henry
Perkin, British chemist who synthesised the first artificial dye (aniline
purple) was born.
28 November 1837, John Wesley Hyatt, inventor of celluloid, was born in Starkey, New
York State.
2 September 1836, William Henry, English chemist, died (born 12
December 1775).
6 December 1835, Rudolf Fittig, German chemist, was born.
31 October 1835, Johann Baeyer, German chemist, was born in
Berlin.
13 February 1834, German chemist Heinrich Caro was born in Posen
(now Poland). In 1834, after learning about
the synthesis of dyes from William Perkin in England, he returned to
Germany to start the development of the German dye industry.
17 May 1836, Norman Lockyer, discoverer of helium,
was born.
21 October 1833, Alfred Nobel, Swedish chemist who invented dynamite in 1867, was born in Stockholm.
7 January 1833, Sir Henry Enfield Roscoe, English chemist, was
born in London.
17 June 1832, Sir William Crookes, English chemist, was
born.
12 March 1832, Charles Friedel, French chemist, was born
(died 20 April 1899).
23 December 1829, Paul Schutzenberger, French chemist, was born
in Strassburg (died 26 June 1897 in Seine et Oise)
14 November 1829, Louis Nicolas Vauquelin, French chemist, died
in Normandy (born 16 May 1763 in Normandy)
29 October 1827, Marcellin Berthelot, French chemist, was born
in Paris (died in Paris 18 March 1907).
17 July 1827, Sir Frederick Augustus, English chemist, was born.
7 March 1827, John Gladstone, English chemist, was born
(died 6 October 1902).
13 July 1826,
Stanislao
Cannizzaro, Italian chemist, was born (died 1910).
18 January 1825,
Sir Edward
Frankland, English chemist, was born (died 9 August 1899).
6 November 1822,
Claude
Berthollet, French chemist, died in Arcueil (born in Talloire,
Savoy 9 December 1748).
21 February
1822, Oliver
Gibbs, US chemist, was born (died 9 December 1908).
20 April 1821,
Franz Achard,
Prussian chemist (born 28 April 1753 in Berlin) died in Silesia.
15 March 1821, Austrian chemist
Johann Joseph Loschmidt was born
in Putschirn, Bohemia. He was the first to use the convention of single lines
for single chemical bonds, double lines for double bonds.
14 November
1819, Frederick
Calvert, English chemist, was born (died 24 October 1873).
28 December
1818, Karl
Fresenius, German chemist, was born (died 11 June 1897).
27
September 1818, Adolph
Wilhelm Hermann Kolbe was born in Elliehausen, Germany.
In 1845 he synthesised acetic acid CH3COOH from non-organic
compounds.
8 April 1818,
August Hofmann,
German chemist, was born (died 5 May 1892).
1 August 1817,
Sir Joseph
Gilbert, English chemist, was born (died 23 December 1901).
24 April 1817, Jean
Marignac, Swiss chemist, was born (died 15
April 1894).
21 August 1816, Charles
Gerhardt, French chemist, was born (died 19 August 1856).
22 September 1815, Smithson
Tennant, English chemist, died near Boulogne (born 30 November 1761
in Selby, Yorkshire)
21 May 1815, William
Nicholson, chemist, died in London, England.
20 February 1814, Edmond Fremy,
French chemist, was born (died 3 February 1894),
29 December 1813, Alexander Parkes, the chemist who invented celluloid, was born in Birmingham.
19 December 1813, Thomas Andrews, Irish chemist, was born in
Belfast (died 26 November 1885).
9 June 1812, Hermann von Fehling, German chemist, was born
(died1 July 1885).
31 March 1811, Robert Bunsen, German chemist, was born in
Gottingen, Lower Saxony.
21 July 1810, Henri Victor Regnault, French chemist, was
born in Aix la Chapelle (died 19 janhuary 1878)
24 February 1810, Henry
Cavendish, English scientist who discovered the properties of hydrogen
and other gases, died.
13 October 1806, Otto Unverdorben was born. In 1826 he
discovered the dye aniline by
distilling indigo.
16 January 1806, Nicolas LeBlanc, French chemist, died.
6 December 1805, Nicolas Conte, French chemist, died (born 4
August 1755).
15 October 1804, Antoine Baume, chemist, died in Paris (born in
Senlis 26 February 1728).
6 February 1804, Joseph
Priestley, English clergyman and chemist who discovered oxygen,
died in Northumberland, Pennsylvania.
30 September 1802, Antoine Balard,
chemist, was born in Montpellier, France (died in Paris 30 April 1876).
2 May 1802, Heinrich Magnus,
German chemist, was born (died 4 April 1870).
31 January 1801, Thomas Clark,
Scottish chemist, was born (died 27 November 1867).
31 July 1800, Friedrich
Wohler, German chemist, was born in Escherheim, near Frankfurt am
Main (died 1882)
15 July 1800, Jean Dumas,
chemist, was born (died 11 April 1884).
2 January 1800, Karl Friedrich
Plattner, German metallurgical chemist, was born in Saxony (died �22 January 1858)
6 December 1799, Joseph Black,
Scottish chemist, died in Edinburgh (born 1728 in Bordeaux).
8 May 1794. The chemist Antoine Lavoisier,
who discovered the composition of water, was executed in Paris.
7 January 1794, Eilhardt Mitscherlich, German chemist,
was born (died 28 August 1863).
12 August 1793, James Muspratt, British chemical
manufacturer, was born (died 4 May 1886).
28 July 1791, Jean Gannal, French chemist, was born (died
1/1852).
12 March 1790, John Daniell, English chemist, was born (died
13 March 1845).
11 January 1788, William Brande, English chemist, was born in
London (died in Tunbridge Wells 11 February 1866).
24 April 1787,
Mathieu
Orfila, French chemist, was born in Minorca (died 12 March 1853 in
Paris)
31 August 1786,
Michel Chevreul,
chemist, was born (died 9 April 1889).
21 May 1786,
Karl William
Scheele, Swedish chemist, died in Koping, Sweden, aged 44.
15 January 1785,
William
Prout, English chemist, was born in Horton, Gloucestershire (died 9
April 1850 in London)
15 December 1780, Johann
Dobereiner, German chemist, was born (died 24 March 1849).
13 December 1780, Johann Wolfgang
was born in Hof, Bavaria. He discovered the catalytic properties of platinum,
speeding up the reactions of organic gases. He also noticed similarities
between elements, suggesting a Periodic Table.
8 August 1779, Benjamin
Silliman, US chemist, was born in Connecticut (died 4 November 1864
in New Haven)
7 June 1776, Jons Jacob Berzelius, Swedish chemist, was
born in Linkoping (died 1848).
12 December 1775, William Henry, English chemist, was born (died
2 September 1836).
15 May 1774, Johann Fuchs,
German chemist, was born (died 5 March 1856).
19 May 1773, Arthur Aikin,
English chemist, was born in Warrington (died 15 April 1854 in London)
12 April 1773, Thomas Thomson,
Scottish chemist, was born in Perthshire (died 1852)
3 August 1770, Guillaume Francois Rouelle, French chemist,
dies in Passy (born 1703 near Caen)
3 May 1768, Charles Tennant, Scottish industrial chemist,
was born in Ayrshire (died 1 Octoberr 1838)
29 April 1768, Georg Brandt, chemist, died.
6 September 1766, John Dalton, English chemist was born in
Eaglesfield, near Cockermouth, Cumbria, the son of a Quaker weaver.
16 May 1763, Louis Nicolas Vauquelin, French chemist, was
born in Normandy (died 14 November 1829 in Normandy)
10 March 1762, Jeremias Benjamin Richter, German chemist, was
born Silesia (died 4 April 1807 in Berlin)
21 November 1761, English chemical manufacturer Joshua Ward
died.
4 August 1755, Nicolas Conte, French chemist,
was born (died 6 December 1805).
15 June 1755, Antoine Francois was born in
Paris. In 1799 he isolated urea.
28 April 1753, Franz Achard, Prussian chemist
(died 20 April 1821 in Silesia) was born in Berlin.
9 December 1748, Claude Berthollet, French
chemist, was born in Talloire, Savoy (died in Arcueil 6 November 1822).
26 August 1743, Antoine Lavoisier, French founder of modern chemistry,
was born in Paris.
19 December 1742, Karl Wilhelm Scheele, Swedish chemist, was
born in Stralsund, Pomerania (died 21 May 1786)
14 May 1734, Georg Ernst Stahl, German chemist, died in
Berlin (born 21 October 1660 in Anspach)
13 March 1733, Joseph Priestley, who discovered oxygen
in 1774, was born in Leeds, the son of a cloth merchant.
10 October 1731, Henry
Cavendish, who discovered
hydrogen, was born in Nice,
France.
6 January 1731, Etienne Geoffroy, French chemist, died (born
13 February 1672).
16 April 1728, Joseph Black, chemist, was born.
26 February 1728, Antoine Baume, chemist, was born in Senlis
(died in Paris 15 October 1804).
24 September 1715, Wilhelm Homberg, Dutch chemist, died (born 8
January 1652).
19 June 1715, Nicolas Lemery, chemist, died (born 17
November 1745).
13 February 1672, Etienne
Geoffroy, French chemist, was born (died 6 January 1731).
27 February 1666, Thomas Vaughan,
English alchemist, died of inhaling mercuty fumes.
21 October 1660, Georg Ernst
Stahl, German chemist, was born in Anspach (died� 14 May 1734 in Berlin)
8 January 1652, Wilhelm Homberg,
Dutch chemist, was born (died 24 September 1715).
17 November 1645, Nicolas Lemery,
chemist, was born (died 19 June 1715).
1315, Raymond Lully, who discovered ammonia (NH3),
was stoned to death in Bougie, North Africa, for preaching against Islam.