Zirconium was identified in 1789 by the German chemist Martin Heinrich Klaproth, who analysed a sample of the gemstone zircon from Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, and found in it an unknown oxide, which he called zirconia. The name of the gem comes from the Arabic zargun or the Persian zargun, meaning gold-coloured. The metal itself was first prepared in impure form in 1824 by Jons Jacob Berzelius. Zirconium is strong, resists corrosion and absorbs very few neutrons, so it is the standard material for the cladding that encases fuel in nuclear reactors. Its oxide in a cubic crystalline form is cut as an inexpensive imitation of diamond, and it is also used in ceramics and dental crowns.
Before and after
- 22 January 1788Birth of Lord Byron
- 26 January 1788Founding of Sydney
- from February 1788 to August 1791Austro-Turkish War of 1788–1791
- 22 February 1788Birth of Arthur Schopenhauer
- 1789Discovery of zirconium
- 1789Discovery of uranium
- 1789Discovery of carbon
- 1789Lavoisier publishes his Elementary Treatise on Chemistry
- 16 March 1789Birth of Georg Simon Ohm
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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 18th century.