Elements

Paracelsus

1526

Paracelsus, a German-Swiss physician & alchemist was the 1st to challenge the idea that everything was made from earth, fire, air, and water. He proposed it was actually made of salt, sulphur, and mercury.

Robert Boyle

1661

Robert Boyle passed on the tools to unlock the mystery of matter. His book “The skeptical Chemist” was important because it signified the transition from alchemy to chemistry.& a new age of scientific experimentation had begun.

Johann Becher

1667

German Chemist Johann Becher proposed all flammable objects contained a substance called phlogiston.

Hennig Brand

1669

The 1st chemical element to be discovered was Phosphorous by German chemist, Hennig Brand

Henry Cavendish

1766

Henry Cavendish made a vital contribution to the discovery of elements. He recognized the 1st element that’s a gas, hydrogen. It was produced after the Big Bang alongside helium and lithium.

Joseph Priestley

1774

Joseph Priestley was the 1st professional salaried chemist and he experimented with airs. He performed one of the most important experiments in chemical history. He had found oxygen, but he didn’t realize as he still believed in phlogiston.

Antoine Lavaisier

1778

Antoine Lavaisier revolutionized chemistry. Thanks to Priestly’s experiment, he recognized oxygen’s significance and that phlogiston simply didn’t exist. He is known as the father of chemistry. He was the first scientist to define what an element was.

elements

1789

Now 33 elements replaced the ancient 4.

Antoine

1794

Antoine was executed but he left a legacy.

Humphry Davy

1807

Humphry Davy succeeded where others had failed. He split potash into its most fundamental ingredients forcing out potassium.

Humphrey Davy

1829

In time, Humphrey Davy added 6 new elements to Lavaisier’s list and confirmed chlorine and iodine were elements. He died at the age of 50. By the time of his death 55 of our planets building blocks have been discovered.& the world had a new science, Chemistry.