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Who discovered the element gold, silver, copper, neon, etc...?
Below is a list of all of the known elements, who they were discovered by and the year they were discovered. Some elements, such as gold, silver and iron, have been known since ancient times, so it is impossible to credit a single person for their discovery. Other elements were discovered around the same time by two or more scientists who were working independently of each other. In these cases, each scientist is listed along with the year they made their discovery. Other elements were discovered by teams of scientists working together. In cases like this, the known members of the team are listed along with a single year of discovery. Click on an element's name for the full story!
| Element Name | Discovered By | Year |
| Actinium | André-Louis Debierne | 1899 |
| Aluminum | Hans Christian Oersted | 1825 |
| Americium | Glenn T. Seaborg Ralph A. James Leon O. Morgan Albert Ghiorso | 1944 |
| Antimony | Known since ancient times | ? |
| Argon | Sir William Ramsay Lord Rayleigh | 1894 |
| Arsenic | Known since ancient times | ? |
| Astatine | Dale R. Carson K.R. MacKenzie Emilio Segrè | 1940 |
| Barium | Sir Humphry Davy | 1808 |
| Berkelium | Stanley G. Thompson Glenn T. Seaborg Kenneth Street, Jr. Albert Ghiorso | 1949 |
| Beryllium | Louis-Nicholas Vauquelin | 1798 |
| Bismuth | Claude Geoffroy the Younger | 1753 |
| Bohrium | Scientists at Dubna, Russia | 1976 |
| Boron | Joseph-Louis Gay-Lussac Louis-Jaques Thénard Sir Humphry Davy | 1808 1808 |
| Bromine | Antoine-Jérôme Balard | 1826 |
| Cadmium | Friedrich Strohmeyer | 1817 |
| Calcium | Sir Humphry Davy | 1808 |
| Californium | Stanley G. Thompson Glenn T. Seaborg Kenneth Street, Jr. Albert Ghiorso | 1950 |
| Carbon | Known since ancient times | ? |
| Cerium | Jöns Jacob Berzelius Wilhelm von Hisinger Martin Heinrich Klaproth | 1803 1803 |
| Cesium | Robert Wilhelm Bunsen Gustav Robert Kirchoff | 1860 |
| Chlorine | Carl Wilhelm Scheele | 1774 |
| Chromium | Louis-Nicholas Vauquelin | 1797 |
| Cobalt | Georg Brandt | 1739 |
| Copernicium | Peter Armbruster Gottfried Münzenber | 1996 |
| Copper | Known since ancient times | ? |
| Curium | Glenn T. Seaborg Ralph A. James Albert Ghiorso | 1944 |
| Darmstadtium | Peter Armbruster Gottfried Münzenber | 1994 |
| Dubnium | Scientists at Dubna, Russia Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory | 1967 1970 |
| Dysprosium | Paul-Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran | 1886 |
| Einsteinium | Albert Ghiorso et. al. | 1952 |
| Erbium | Carl Gustaf Mosander | 1843 |
| Europium | Eugène-Antole Demarçay | 1896 |
| Fermium | Albert Ghiorso et. al. | 1952 |
| Flerovium | Scientists at Dubna, Russia with Scientists from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory | 1998 |
| Fluorine | Ferdinand Frederic Henri Moissan | 1886 |
| Francium | Marguerite Catherine Perey | 1939 |
| Gadolinium | Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac | 1880 |
| Gallium | Paul-Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran | 1875 |
| Germanium | Clemens Winkler | 1886 |
| Gold | Know to the Ancients | ? |
| Hafnium | Dirk Coster Charles de Hevesy | 1923 |
| Hassium | Peter Armbruster Gottfried Münzenber | 1984 |
| Helium | Pierre-Jules-César Janssen | 1868 |
| Holmium | Per Theodor Cleve | 1879 |
| Hydrogen | Henry Cavendish | 1766 |
| Indium | Ferdinand Reich Hieronymus Theodor Richter | 1863 |
| Iodine | Barnard Courtois | 1811 |
| Iridium | Smithson Tennant | 1803 |
| Iron | Known since ancient times | ? |
| Krypton | Sir William Ramsay Morris M. Travers | 1898 |
| Lanthanum | Carl Gustaf Mosander | 1839 |
| Lawrencium | Albert Ghiorso Torbjørn Sikkeland Almon E. Larsh Robert M. Latimer | 1961 |
| Lead | Known since ancient times | ? |
| Lithium | Johann August Arfvedson | 1817 |
| Livermorium | Scientists at Dubna, Russia with Scientists from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory | 2001 |
| Lutetium | Georges Urbain | 1907 |
| Magnesium | Sir Humphry Davy | 1808 |
| Manganese | Johan Gottlieb Gahn | 1774 |
| Meitnerium | Peter Armbruster Gottfried Münzenber | 1982 |
| Mendelevium | Stanley G. Thompson Glenn T. Seaborg Bernard G. Harvey Gregory R. Choppin Albert Ghiorso | 1955 |
| Mercury | Known since ancient times | ? |
| Molybdenum | Carl Welhelm Scheele | 1778 |
| Moscovium | Y. T. Oganessian et. al. | 2004 |
| Neodymium | Carl F. Auer von Welsbach | 1885 |
| Neon | Sir William Ramsay Morris M. Travers | 1898 |
| Neptunium | Edwin M. McMillian Philip H. Abelson | 1940 |
| Nickel | Axel Fredrik Cronstedt | 1751 |
| Nihonium | Y. T. Oganessian et. al. | 2004 |
| Niobium | Charles Hatchett | 1801 |
| Nitrogen | Daniel Rutherford | 1772 |
| Nobelium | Albert Ghiorso Glenn T. Seaborg Torbørn Sikkeland John R. Walton | 1958 |
| Oganesson | Y. T. Oganessian et. al. | 2006 |
| Osmium | Smithson Tennant | 1803 |
| Oxygen | Joseph Priestley | 1774 |
| Palladium | William Hyde Wollaston | 1803 |
| Phosphorus | Hennig Brand | 1669 |
| Platinum | Known to pre-Columbian Indians Antonio de Ulloa | ? 1735 |
| Plutonium | Glenn T. Seaborg Joseph W. Kennedy Edward M. McMillan Arthur C. Wohl | 1941 |
| Polonium | Marie Sklodowska Curie | 1898 |
| Potassium | Sir Humphry Davy | 1807 |
| Praseodymium | Carl F. Auer von Welsbach | 1885 |
| Promethium | Jacob A. Marinsky Lawrence E. Glendenin Charles D. Coryell | 1944 |
| Protactinium | Kasimir Fajans O.H. Göhring | 1913 |
| Radium | Marie Sklodowska Curie Pierre Curie | 1898 |
| Radon | Friedrich Ernst Dorn | 1900 |
| Rhenium | Ida Tacke-Noddack Walter Noddack Otto Carl Berg | 1925 |
| Rhodium | William Hyde Wollaston | 1803 |
| Roentgenium | Peter Armbruster Gottfried Münzenber | 1994 |
| Rubidium | Robert Bunsen Gustav Kirchhoff | 1861 |
| Ruthenium | Karl Karlovich Klaus | 1844 |
| Rutherfordium | Scientists at Dubna, Russia Albert Ghiorso et. al. | 1964 1969 |
| Samarium | Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac | 1853 |
| Scandium | Lars Fredrik Nilson | 1879 |
| Seaborgium | Albert Ghiorso et. al. | 1974 |
| Selenium | Jöns Jacob Berzelius | 1817 |
| Silicon | Jöns Jacob Berzelius | 1824 |
| Silver | Known since ancient times | ? |
| Sodium | Sir Humphry Davy | 1807 |
| Strontium | Adair Crawford | 1790 |
| Sulfur | Known since ancient times | ? |
| Tantalum | Anders Gustaf Ekenberg | 1802 |
| Technetium | Carlo Perrier Emilio Segrè | 1937 |
| Tellurium | Franz Joseph Müller von Reichenstein | 1782 |
| Tennessine | Y. T. Oganessian et. al. | 2010 |
| Terbium | Carl Gustaf Mosander | 1843 |
| Thallium | Sir William Crookes | 1861 |
| Thorium | Jöns Jacob Berzelius | 1828 |
| Thulium | Per Theodor Cleve | 1879 |
| Tin | Known since ancient times | ? |
| Titanium | The Reverend William Gregor | 1791 |
| Tungsten | Juan José Fausto Elhuyar | 1783 |
| Uranium | Martin Heinrich Klaproth | 1789 |
| Vanadium | Andrés Manuel del Rio Nils Gabriel Sefstrôm | 1801 1830 |
| Xenon | Sir William Ramsay Morris M. Travers | 1898 |
| Ytterbium | Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac | 1878 |
| Yttrium | Johan Gadolin | 1789 |
| Zinc | Known since ancient times | ? |
| Zirconium | Martin Heinrich Klaproth | 1789 |
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