Timeline of chemical element discoveries

The discovery of the 118 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.

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

Table

Periodic table by era of discovery
	1	2		3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
Group →
↓ Period
1	1 H																		2 He
2	3 Li	4 Be												5 B	6 C	7 N	8 O	9 F	10 Ne
3	11 Na	12 Mg												13 Al	14 Si	15 P	16 S	17 Cl	18 Ar
4	19 K	20 Ca		21 Sc	22 Ti	23 V	24 Cr	25 Mn	26 Fe	27 Co	28 Ni	29 Cu	30 Zn	31 Ga	32 Ge	33 As	34 Se	35 Br	36 Kr
5	37 Rb	38 Sr		39 Y	40 Zr	41 Nb	42 Mo	43 Tc	44 Ru	45 Rh	46 Pd	47 Ag	48 Cd	49 In	50 Sn	51 Sb	52 Te	53 I	54 Xe
6	55 Cs	56 Ba		71 Lu	72 Hf	73 Ta	74 W	75 Re	76 Os	77 Ir	78 Pt	79 Au	80 Hg	81 Tl	82 Pb	83 Bi	84 Po	85 At	86 Rn
7	87 Fr	88 Ra		103 Lr	104 Rf	105 Db	106 Sg	107 Bh	108 Hs	109 Mt	110 Ds	111 Rg	112 Cn	113 Uut	114 Fl	115 Uup	116 Lv	117 Uus	118 Uuo
				57 La	58 Ce	59 Pr	60 Nd	61 Pm	62 Sm	63 Eu	64 Gd	65 Tb	66 Dy	67 Ho	68 Er	69 Tm	70 Yb
				89 Ac	90 Th	91 Pa	92 U	93 Np	94 Pu	95 Am	96 Cm	97 Bk	98 Cf	99 Es	100 Fm	101 Md	102 No
Background color shows age of discovery: Antiquity to Middle Ages Middle Ages–​1799 1800–​1849 1850–​1899 1900–​1949 1950–​1999 Since 2000 (12 elements) Antiquity to Middle Ages: unrecorded discoveries up into the Middle Ages (22 elements) Discoveries during the age of enlightenment (24 elements) Scientific and industrial revolutions (26 elements) The age of classifying elements; application of spectrum analysis techniques: Boisbaudran, Bunsen, Crookes, Kirchhoff, and others "hunting emission line signatures" (13 elements) Development of old quantum theory and quantum mechanics (16 elements) Post Manhattan project; synthesis of atomic numbers 98 and above (colliders, bombardment techniques) (5 elements) Recent synthesis black=solid green=liquid red=gas gray=unknown Color of the atomic number shows state of matter (at 0 °C and 1 atm) Primordial From decay Synthetic Border shows natural occurrence of the element

Unrecorded discoveries

Z	Element	Earliest use	Oldest existing sample	Discoverers	Place of oldest sample	Notes
29	Copper	9000 BC	6000 BC	Middle East	Anatolia	Copper was probably the first metal mined and crafted by humans. It was originally obtained as a native metal and later from the smelting of ores. Earliest estimates of the discovery of copper suggest around 9000 BC in the Middle East. It was one of the most important materials to humans throughout the copper and bronze ages. Copper beads dating from 6000 BC have been found in Çatal Höyük, Anatolia.
82	Lead	7000 BC	3800 BC	Africa	Abydos, Egypt	It is believed that lead smelting began at least 9,000 years ago, and the oldest known artifact of lead is a statuette found at the temple of Osiris on the site of Abydos dated circa 3800 BC.
79	Gold	Before 6000 BC	ca. 4400 BC	Bulgaria	Varna Necropolis	The oldest golden treasure in the world, dating from 4,600 BC to 4,200 BC, was discovered at the burial site Varna Necropolis.
47	Silver	Before 5000 BC	ca. 4000 BC		Asia Minor	Estimated to have been discovered shortly after copper and gold.
26	Iron	Before 5000 BC	4000 BC	Unknown; see History of ferrous metallurgy	Egypt	There is evidence that iron was known from before 5000 BC. The oldest known iron objects used by humans are some beads of meteoric iron, made in Egypt in about 4000 BC. The discovery of smelting around 3000 BC led to the start of the iron age around 1200 BC and the prominent use of iron for tools and weapons.
6	Carbon	3750 BC		Egyptians and Sumerians		The earliest known use of charcoal was for the reduction of copper, zinc, and tin ores in the manufacture of bronze, by the Egyptians and Sumerians. Diamonds were probably known as early as 2500 BC. The first true chemical analyses were made in the 18th century, and in 1789 carbon was listed by Antoine Lavoisier as an element.
50	Tin	3500 BC	2000 BC	Unknown; see Tin#History		First smelted in combination with copper around 3500 BC to produce bronze. The oldest artifacts date from around 2000 BC.
16	Sulfur	Before 2000 BC		Chinese/Indians		First used at least 4,000 years ago. Recognized as an element by Antoine Lavoisier in 1777.
80	Mercury	Before 2000 BC	1500 BC	Chinese/Indians	Egypt	Known to ancient Chinese and Indians before 2000 BC, and found in Egyptian tombs dating from 1500 BC.
30	Zinc	Before 1000 BC	1000 BC	Indian metallurgists	Indian subcontinent	Extracted as a metal since antiquity (before 1000 BC) by Indian metallurgists, but the true nature of this metal was not understood in ancient times. Identified as a unique metal by the metallurgist Rasaratna Samuccaya in 800 and by the alchemist Paracelsus in 1526. Isolated by Andreas Sigismund Marggraf in 1746.
33	Arsenic	2500 BC/1250 AD	Bronze age	A. Magnus		In use in the early bronze age; Albertus Magnus was the first European to isolate the element in 1250. In 1649, Johann Schröder published two ways of preparing elemental arsenic.
51	Antimony	3000 BC				In widespread use in Egypt and the Middle East.

Recorded discoveries

Z	Element	Observed or predicted	Isolated (widely known)	Observer	First isolator	Notes
15	Phosphorus	1669	1669	H. Brand	H. Brand	Prepared from urine, it was the first element to be chemically discovered.
27	Cobalt	1732		G. Brandt		Proved that the blue color of glass is due to a new kind of metal and not bismuth as thought previously.
78	Platinum	1735	1735	A. de Ulloa	A. de Ulloa	First description of a metal found in South American gold was in 1557 by Julius Caesar Scaliger. Ulloa published his findings in 1748, but Sir Charles Wood also investigated the metal in 1741. First reference to it as a new metal was made by William Brownrigg in 1750.
28	Nickel	1751	1751	F. Cronstedt	F. Cronstedt	Found by attempting to extract copper from the mineral known as fake copper (now known as niccolite).
83	Bismuth	1753		C.F. Geoffroy		Definitively identified by Claude François Geoffroy in 1753.
12	Magnesium	1755	1808	J. Black	H. Davy	Black observed that magnesia alba (MgO) was not quicklime (CaO). Davy isolated the metal electrochemically from magnesia.
1	Hydrogen	1766	1500	H. Cavendish	Paracelsus	Cavendish was the first to distinguish H 2 from other gases, although Paracelsus around 1500, Robert Boyle, and Joseph Priestley had observed its production by reacting strong acids with metals. Lavoisier named it in 1793.
8	Oxygen	1771	1771	W. Scheele	W. Scheele	Obtained it by heating mercuric oxide and nitrates in 1771, but did not publish his findings until 1777. Joseph Priestley also prepared this new air by 1774, but only Lavoisier recognized it as a true element; he named it in 1777.
7	Nitrogen	1772	1772	D. Rutherford	D. Rutherford	He discovered Nitrogen while he was studying at the University of Edinburgh. He showed that the air in which animals had breathed, even after removal of the exhaled carbon dioxide, was no longer able to burn a candle. Carl Wilhelm Scheele, Henry Cavendish, and Joseph Priestley also studied the element at about the same time, and Lavoisier named it in 1775-6.
17	Chlorine	1774	1774	W. Scheele	W. Scheele	Obtained it from hydrochloric acid, but thought it was an oxide. Only in 1808 did Humphry Davy recognize it as an element.
25	Manganese	1774	1774	W. Scheele	G. Gahn	Distinguished pyrolusite as the calx of a new metal. Ignatius Gottfred Kaim also discovered the new metal in 1770, as did Scheele in 1774. It was isolated by reduction of manganese dioxide with carbon.
56	Barium	1772	1808	W. Scheele	H. Davy	Scheele distinguished a new earth (BaO) in pyrolusite and Davy isolated the metal by electrolysis.
42	Molybdenum	1778	1781	W. Scheele	J. Hjelm	Scheele recognised the metal as a constituent of molybdena.
52	Tellurium	1782		F.-J.M. von Reichenstein	H. Klaproth	Muller observed it as an impurity in gold ores from Transylvania.
74	Tungsten	1781	1783	T. Bergman	J. and F. Elhuyar	Bergman obtained from scheelite an oxide of a new element. The Elhuyars obtained tungstic acid from wolframite and reduced it with charcoal.
38	Strontium	1787	1808	W. Cruikshank	H. Davy	Cruikshank and Adair Crawford in 1790 concluded that strontianite contained a new earth. It was eventually isolated electrochemically in 1808 by Humphry Davy.
		1789		A. Lavoisier		The first modern list of chemical elements – containing, among others, 29 elements of those known then. He also redefined the term "element". Until then, no metals except mercury were considered elements.
40	Zirconium	1789	1824	H. Klaproth	J. Berzelius	Klaproth identified a new element in zirconia.
92	Uranium	1789	1841	H. Klaproth	E.-M. Péligot	Mistakenly identified a uranium oxide obtained from pitchblende as the element itself and named it after the recently discovered planet Uranus.
22	Titanium	1791	1825	W. Gregor	J. Berzelius	Gregor found an oxide of a new metal in ilmenite; Martin Heinrich Klaproth independently discovered the element in rutile in 1795 and named it. The pure metallic form was only obtained in 1910 by Matthew A. Hunter.
39	Yttrium	1794	1840	J. Gadolin	G. Mosander	Discovered in gadolinite, but Mosander showed later that its ore, yttria, contained more elements.
24	Chromium	1797	1798	N. Vauquelin	N. Vauquelin	Vauquelin discovered the trioxide in crocoite ore, and later isolated the metal by heating the oxide in a charcoal oven.
4	Beryllium	1798	1828	N. Vauquelin	F. Wöhler and A. Bussy	Vauquelin discovered the oxide in beryl and emerald, and Klaproth suggested the present name around 1808.
23	Vanadium	1801	1830	M. del Río	N.G.Sefström	Río found the metal in vanadinite but retracted the claim after Hippolyte Victor Collet-Descotils disputed it. Sefström isolated and named it, and later it was shown that Río had been right in the first place.
41	Niobium	1801	1864	C. Hatchett	W. Blomstrand	Hatchett found the element in columbite ore and named it columbium. Heinrich Rose proved in 1844 that the element is distinct from tantalum, and renamed it niobium which was officially accepted in 1949.
73	Tantalum	1802		G. Ekeberg		Ekeberg found another element in minerals similar to columbite and in 1844, Heinrich Rose proved that it was distinct from niobium.
46	Palladium	1803	1803	H. Wollaston	H. Wollaston	Wollaston discovered it in samples of platinum from South America, but did not publish his results immediately. He had intended to name it after the newly discovered asteroid, Ceres, but by the time he published his results in 1804, cerium had taken that name. Wollaston named it after the more recently discovered asteroid Pallas.
58	Cerium	1803	1839	H. Klaproth, J. Berzelius, and W. Hisinger	G. Mosander	Berzelius and Hisinger discovered the element in ceria and named it after the newly discovered asteroid (then considered a planet), Ceres. Klaproth discovered it simultaneously and independently in some tantalum samples. Mosander proved later that the samples of all three researchers had at least another element in them, lanthanum.
76	Osmium	1803	1803	S. Tennant	S. Tennant	Tennant had been working on samples of South American platinum in parallel with Wollaston and discovered two new elements, which he named osmium and iridium.
77	Iridium	1803	1803	S. Tennant	S. Tennant	Tennant had been working on samples of South American platinum in parallel with Wollaston and discovered two new elements, which he named osmium and iridium, and published the iridium results in 1804.
45	Rhodium	1804	1804	H. Wollaston	H. Wollaston	Wollaston discovered and isolated it from crude platinum samples from South America.
19	Potassium	1807	1807	H. Davy	H. Davy	Davy discovered it by using electrolysis on potash.
11	Sodium	1807	1807	H. Davy	H. Davy	Davy discovered it a few days after potassium, by using electrolysis on sodium hydroxide.
20	Calcium	1808	1808	H. Davy	H. Davy	Davy discovered the metal by electrolysis of quicklime.
5	Boron	1808	1808	L. Gay-Lussac and L.J. Thénard	H. Davy	On June 21, 1808, Lussac and Thénard announced a new element in sedative salt, Davy announced the isolation of a new substance from boracic acid soon afterwards.
9	Fluorine	1810	1886	A.-M. Ampère	H. Moissan	André-Marie Ampère predicted an element analogous to chlorine obtainable from hydrofluoric acid, and between 1812 and 1886 many researchers tried to obtain this element. It was eventually isolated by Moissan.
53	Iodine	1811	1811	B. Courtois	B. Courtois	Courtois discovered it in the ashes of seaweed.
3	Lithium	1817	1821	A. Arfwedson	W. T. Brande	Arfwedson discovered the alkali in petalite.
48	Cadmium	1817	1817	S. L Hermann, F. Stromeyer, and J.C.H. Roloff	S. L Hermann, F. Stromeyer, and J.C.H. Roloff	All three found an unknown metal in a sample of zinc oxide from Silesia, but the name that Stromeyer gave became the accepted one.
34	Selenium	1817	1817	J. Berzelius and G. Gahn	J. Berzelius and G. Gahn	While working with lead they discovered a substance that they thought was tellurium, but realized after more investigation that it is different.
14	Silicon	1824	1824	J. Berzelius	J. Berzelius	Humphry Davy thought in 1800 that silica was an element, not a compound, and in 1808 suggested the present name. In 1811 Louis-Joseph Gay-Lussac and Louis-Jacques Thénard probably prepared impure silicon, but Berzelius is credited with the discovery for obtaining the pure element in 1824.
13	Aluminium	1825	1825	H.C.Ørsted	H.C.Ørsted	Antoine Lavoisier predicted in 1787 that alumine is the oxide of an undiscovered element, and in 1808 Humphry Davy tried to decompose it. Although he failed, he suggested the present name. Hans Christian Ørsted was the first to isolate metallic aluminium in 1825.
35	Bromine	1825	1825	J. Balard and L. Gmelin	J. Balard and L. Gmelin	They both discovered the element in the autumn of 1825 and published the results the next year.
90	Thorium	1829		J. Berzelius		Berzelius obtained the oxide of a new earth in thorite.
57	Lanthanum	1838		G. Mosander		Mosander found a new element in samples of ceria and published his results in 1842, but later he showed that this lanthana contained four more elements.
68	Erbium	1842		G. Mosander		Mosander managed to split the old yttria into yttria proper and erbia, and later terbia too.
65	Terbium	1842	1842	G. Mosander	G. Mosander	In 1842 Mosander split yttria into two more earths, erbia and terbia
44	Ruthenium	1844	1844	K. Claus	K. Claus	Gottfried Wilhelm Osann thought that he found three new metals in Russian platinum samples, and in 1844 Karl Karlovich Klaus confirmed that there was a new element.
55	Caesium	1860	1882	R. Bunsen and R. Kirchhoff	C. Setterberg	Bunsen and Kirchhoff were the first to suggest finding new elements by spectrum analysis. They discovered caesium by its two blue emission lines in a sample of Dürkheim mineral water. The pure metal was eventually isolated in 1882 by Setterberg.
37	Rubidium	1861		R. Bunsen and G. R. Kirchhoff	R. Bunsen	Bunsen and Kirchhoff discovered it just a few months after caesium, by observing new spectral lines in the mineral lepidolite. Bunsen never obtained a pure sample of the metal, which was later obtained by Hervesy.
81	Thallium	1861	1862	W. Crookes	C.-A. Lamy	Shortly after the discovery of rubidium, Crookes found a new green line in a selenium sample; later that year, Lamy found the element to be metallic.
49	Indium	1863	1867	F. Reich and T. Richter	T. Richter	Reich and Richter First identified it in sphalerite by its bright indigo-blue spectroscopic emission line. Richter isolated the metal several years later.
2	Helium	1868	1895	P. Janssen and N. Lockyer	W. Ramsay, T. Cleve, and N. Langlet	Janssen and Lockyer observed independently a yellow line in the solar spectrum that did not match any other element. Years later, Ramsay, Cleve, and Langlet observed independently the element trapped in cleveite about the same time.
		1869		D. I. Mendeleev		Mendeleev arranges the 64 elements known at that time into the first modern periodic table and correctly predicts several others.
31	Gallium	1875		P. E. L. de Boisbaudran	P. E. L. de Boisbaudran	Boisbaudran observed on a pyrenea blende sample some emission lines corresponding to the eka-aluminium that was predicted by Mendeleev in 1871 and subsequently isolated the element by electrolysis.
70	Ytterbium	1878	1907	J.C.G. de Marignac	G. Urbain	On October 22, 1878, Marignac reported splitting terbia into two new earths, terbia proper and ytterbia.
67	Holmium	1878		M. Delafontaine		Delafontaine found it in samarskite and next year, Per Teodor Cleve split Marignac's erbia into erbia proper and two new elements, thulium and holmium.
69	Thulium	1879	1879	T. Cleve	T. Cleve	Cleve split Marignac's erbia into erbia proper and two new elements, thulium and holmium.
21	Scandium	1879	1879	F. Nilson	F. Nilson	Nilson split Marignac's ytterbia into pure ytterbia and a new element that matched 1871 Mendeleev's predicted eka-boron.
62	Samarium	1879	1879	P.E.L. de Boisbaudran	P.E.L. de Boisbaudran	Boisbaudran noted a new earth in samarskite and named it samaria after the mineral.
64	Gadolinium	1880	1886	J. C. G. de Marignac	F. L. de Boisbaudran	Marignac initially observed the new earth in terbia, and later Boisbaudran obtained a pure sample from samarskite.
59	Praseodymium	1885		A. von Welsbach		Von Welsbach discovered two new distinct elements in ceria: praseodymium and neodymium.
60	Neodymium	1885		A. von Welsbach		Von Welsbach discovered two new distinct elements in ceria: praseodymium and neodymium.
66	Dysprosium	1886		P.E.L. de Boisbaudran		De Boisbaudran found a new earth in erbia.
32	Germanium	1886		A. Winkler		In February 1886 Winkler found in argyrodite the eka-silicon that Mendeleev had predicted in 1871.
18	Argon	1894	1894	Lord Rayleigh and W. Ramsay	Lord Rayleigh and W. Ramsay	They discovered the gas by comparing the molecular weights of nitrogen prepared by liquefaction from air and nitrogen prepared by chemical means. It is the first noble gas to be isolated.
36	Krypton	1898	1898	W. Ramsay and W. Travers	W. Ramsay and W. Travers	On May 30, 1898, Ramsay separated a noble gas from liquid argon by difference in boiling point.
10	Neon	1898	1898	W. Ramsay and W. Travers	W. Ramsay and W. Travers	In June 1898 Ramsay separated a new noble gas from liquid argon by difference in boiling point.
54	Xenon	1898	1898	W. Ramsay and W. Travers	W. Ramsay and W. Travers	On July 12, 1898 Ramsay separated a third noble gas within three weeks, from liquid argon by difference in boiling point.
84	Polonium	1898	1902	P. and M. Curie	W. Marckwald	In an experiment done on July 13, 1898, the Curies noted an increased radioactivity in the uranium obtained from pitchblende, which they ascribed to an unknown element.
88	Radium	1898	1902	P. and M. Curie	M. Curie	The Curies reported on December 26, 1898, a new element different from polonium, which Marie later isolated from uraninite.
86	Radon	1898	1910	E. Dorn	W. Ramsay and R. Whytlaw-Gray	Dorn discovered a radioactive gas resulting from the radioactive decay of radium, isolated later by Ramsay and Gray.
89	Actinium	1899	1899	A.-L. Debierne	A.-L. Debierne	Debierne obtained from pitchblende a substance that had properties similar to those of thorium.
63	Europium	1896	1901	E.-A. Demarçay	E.-A. Demarçay	Demarçay found spectral lines of a new element in Lecoq's samarium, and separated this element several years later.
71	Lutetium	1906	1906	G. Urbain and C.A. von Welsbach	G. Urbain and C.A. von Welsbach	Urbain and von Welsbach proved independently that the old ytterbium also contained a new element.
75	Rhenium	1908	1925	M. Ogawa	M. Ogawa	Ogawa found it in thorianite but assigned it as element 43 instead of 75 and named it nipponium. In 1922 Walter Noddack, Ida Eva Tacke and Otto Berg announced its separation from gadolinite and gave it the present name.
72	Hafnium	1911	1922	G. Urbain and V. Vernadsky	D. Coster and G. von Hevesy	Urbain claimed to have found the element in rare-earth residues, while Vernadsky independently found it in orthite. Neither claim was confirmed due to World War I. After the war, Coster and Hevesy found it by X-ray spectroscopic analysis in Norwegian zircon. Hafnium was the last stable element to be discovered.
91	Protactinium	1913		O.H.Göhring and K. Fajans		The two obtained the first isotope of this element that had been predicted by Mendeleev in 1871 as a member of the natural decay of 238U. Originally isolated in 1900 by William Crookes.
43	Technetium	1937	1937	C. Perrier and E. Segrè	C. Perrier & E.Segrè	The two discovered a new element in a molybdenum sample that was used in a cyclotron, the first synthetic element to be discovered. It had been predicted by Mendeleev in 1871 as eka-manganese.
87	Francium	1939		M. Perey		Perey discovered it as a decay product of 227Ac. Francium is the last element to be discovered in nature, rather than synthesized in the lab, although 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		R. Corson, R. MacKenzie and E. Segrè		Obtained by bombarding bismuth with alpha particles. Later determined to occur naturally in minuscule quantities (<25 grams in earth's crust).
93	Neptunium	1940		E.M. McMillan and H. Abelson		Obtained by irradiating uranium with neutrons, it is the first transuranium element discovered.
94	Plutonium	1940–1941		Glenn T. Seaborg, Arthur C. Wahl, W. Kennedy and E.M. McMillan		Prepared by bombardment of uranium with deuterons.
95	Americium	1944		G. T. Seaborg, A. James, O. Morgan and A. Ghiorso		Prepared by irradiating plutonium with neutrons during the Manhattan Project.
96	Curium	1944		G. T. Seaborg, R. A. James and A. Ghiorso		Prepared by bombarding plutonium with alpha particles during the Manhattan Project
61	Promethium	1942	1945	S. Wu, E.G. Segrè and A. Bethe	Charles D. Coryell, Jacob A. Marinsky, Lawrence E. Glendenin, and Harold G. Richter	It was probably first prepared in 1942 by bombarding neodymium and praseodymium with neutrons, but separation of the element could not be carried out. Isolation was performed under the Manhattan Project in 1945.
97	Berkelium	1949		G. Thompson, A. Ghiorso and G. T. Seaborg (University of California, Berkeley)		Created by bombardment of americium with alpha particles.
98	Californium	1950		S. G. Thompson, K. Street,Jr., A. Ghiorso and G. T. Seaborg (University of California, Berkeley)		Bombardment of curium with alpha particles.
99	Einsteinium	1952	1952	A. Ghiorso et al. (Argonne Laboratory, Los Alamos Laboratory and University of California, Berkeley)		Formed in the first thermonuclear explosion in November 1952, by irradiation of uranium with neutrons; kept secret for several years.
100	Fermium	1952		A. Ghiorso et al. (Argonne Laboratory, Los Alamos Laboratory and University of California, Berkeley)		Formed in the first thermonuclear explosion in November 1952, by irradiation of uranium with neutrons; kept secret for several years.
101	Mendelevium	1955		A. Ghiorso, G. Harvey, R. Choppin, S. G. Thompson and G. T. Seaborg		Prepared by bombardment of einsteinium with helium.
102	Nobelium	1958		A. Ghiorso, T. Sikkeland, R. Walton and G. T. Seaborg		First prepared by bombardment of curium with carbon atoms.
103	Lawrencium	1961		A. Ghiorso, T. Sikkeland, E. Larsh and M. Latimer		First prepared by bombardment of californium with boron atoms.
104	Rutherfordium	1968		A. Ghiorso, M. Nurmia, J. Harris, K. Eskola and P. Eskola		Prepared by bombardment of californium with carbon atoms.
105	Dubnium	1970		A. Ghiorso, M. Nurmia, K. Eskola, J. Harris and P. Eskola		Prepared by bombardment of californium with nitrogen atoms.
106	Seaborgium	1974		A. Ghiorso, J. Nitschke, J. Alonso, C. Alonso, M. Nurmia, G. T. Seaborg, K. Hulet and W. Lougheed		Prepared by collisions of californium-249 with oxygen atoms.
107	Bohrium	1981		G.Münzenberg et al. (GSI in Darmstadt)		Obtained by bombarding bismuth with chromium.
109	Meitnerium	1982		G. Münzenberg, P. Armbruster et al. (GSI in Darmstadt)		Prepared by bombardment of bismuth with iron atoms.
108	Hassium	1984		G. Münzenberg, P. Armbruster et al. (GSI in Darmstadt)		Prepared by bombardment of lead with iron atoms
110	Darmstadtium	1994		S. Hofmann et al. (GSI in Darmstadt)		Prepared by bombardment of lead with nickel.
111	Roentgenium	1994		S. Hofmann et al. (GSI in Darmstadt)		Prepared by bombardment of bismuth with nickel.
112	Copernicium	1996		S. Hofmann et al. (GSI in Darmstadt)		Prepared by bombardment of lead with zinc.
114	Flerovium	1999		Y. Oganessian et al. (JINR in Dubna)		Prepared by bombardment of plutonium with calcium
116	Livermorium	2000		Y. Oganessian et al. (JINR in Dubna)		Prepared by bombardment of curium with calcium
118	Ununoctium	2002		Y. Oganessian et al. (JINR in Dubna)		Prepared by bombardment of californium with calcium
115	Ununpentium	2003		Y. Oganessian et al. (JINR in Dubna)		Prepared by bombardment of americium with calcium
113	Ununtrium	2004		K. Morita et al. (RIKEN in Wako, Japan)		Prepared by bombardment of bismuth with zinc
117	Ununseptium	2010		Y. Oganessian et al. (JINR in Dubna)		Prepared by bombardment of berkelium with calcium

Graphics

Development in discovery

See also

• History of the periodic table
• Periodic table
• The Mystery of Matter: Search for the Elements (2014/2015 PBS film)

External links

• History of the Origin of the Chemical Elements and Their Discoverers Last updated by Boris Pritychenko on March 30, 2004
• History of Elements of the Periodic Table
• Timeline of Element Discoveries
• Discovery of the Elements - The Movie - YouTube (1:18)
• The History Of Metals Timeline. A timeline showing the discovery of metals and the development of metallurgy.