Vanadium was first found in 1801 by the Spanish-Mexican mineralogist Andres Manuel del Rio, who analysed a brown lead ore from Zimapan in Mexico and discovered a new metal with brilliantly coloured compounds. He called it panchromium and then erythronium, because its salts turned red when heated. The French chemist Hippolyte Victor Collet-Descotils, to whom he sent samples, wrongly claimed that it was merely impure chromium, and del Rio accepted the criticism. In 1830 the Swedish chemist Nils Gabriel Sefstrom rediscovered the element in iron ore and named it vanadium after Vanadis, a name of the Norse goddess Freyja. The metal was isolated in 1867 by Henry Roscoe. Vanadium is used chiefly to strengthen steel, for example in tools and springs.
Before and after
- 24 April 1800Founding of Library of Congress
- 1 November 1800Construction of White House
- 1801Discovery of niobium
- from 1 January 1801 to 12 April 1927United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
- 1801Discovery of vanadium
- 1 January 1801Giuseppe Piazzi discovers Ceres
- 9 February 1801Treaty of Lunéville
- 8 March 1801Second Battle of Abukir
- from 13 June 1801 to 14 July 1801Algeciras Campaign
More in Science & technology
- 1774Discovery of chlorine
- 1789Discovery of uranium
- 30 June 1808Discovery of boron
- 1810Discovery of fluorine
- 1823Discovery of silicon
- 1884Car
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.