Discovery of beryllium

In 1798 the French chemist Louis-Nicolas Vauquelin, analysing the minerals beryl and emerald at the request of the mineralogist Rene Just Hauy, discovered that they contained an oxide of a previously unknown element. Because its salts tasted sweet, it was first called glucinium, from the Greek for sweet, and the name beryllium, from beryl, later became the standard. The metal itself was isolated in 1828, independently by Friedrich Wohler in Germany and Antoine Bussy in France. Beryllium is light, strong and stiff, and it is used in aerospace components, X-ray windows and the mirrors of the James Webb Space Telescope. Its dust and compounds are highly toxic and can cause a serious lung disease, so it must be handled with care.

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