Helium was found in the Sun before it was found on Earth. During the total solar eclipse of 1868, the French astronomer Pierre Janssen, observing from Guntur in India, saw a bright yellow line in the spectrum of the solar prominences that did not match any known element. The English astronomer Norman Lockyer, working with the chemist Edward Frankland, concluded that it came from a new element and named it after the Greek word helios, meaning sun. Helium was isolated on Earth in 1895 by the Scottish chemist William Ramsay, who found it in a uranium mineral. A noble gas, helium is the second most abundant element in the universe, and it is used in balloons, cooling superconducting magnets and deep diving mixtures.
Before and after
- 18 May 1868Birth of Nicholas II of Russia
- 1 June 1868Death of James Buchanan
- 14 June 1868Birth of Karl Landsteiner
- 19 June 1868Construction of Kyoto Prefecture
- 18 August 1868Discovery of helium
- 6 September 1868Founding of Tokyo
- 1 October 1868Construction of St Pancras railway station
- from 23 October 1868 to 30 July 1912Meiji era
- 27 November 1868Battle of Washita River
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The era
This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 19th century.