Thorium was discovered in 1828 by the Swedish chemist Jons Jacob Berzelius, who analysed a black mineral sent to him by the Norwegian amateur mineralogist Morten Thrane Esmark, who had found it on the island of Lovoya in Norway. Berzelius named the new element after Thor, the Norse god of thunder, and the mineral was later called thorite. The radioactivity of thorium was discovered in 1898 independently by Gerhard Schmidt and Marie Curie. Thorium oxide was used in gas mantles, which gave bright light in street lamps and camping lanterns, and in heat-resistant ceramics. As thorium is more abundant than uranium and can be turned into fissile material in a reactor, it has been studied as a possible alternative nuclear fuel.
Before and after
- 15 March 1827Founding of University of Toronto
- 26 March 1827Death of Ludwig van Beethoven
- 5 April 1827Birth of Joseph Lister
- 20 October 1827Battle of Navarino
- 1828Discovery of thorium
- 1828Construction of Egyptian Museum of Berlin
- from 1828 to 1829Ninth Russo-Turkish War
- 1828Rise of Brahmo Samaj
- 8 February 1828Birth of Jules Verne
More in Science & technology
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.