English-American chemist · 1880–1928
Charles James
Charles James was the world’s leading separator of rare earths in the early 20th century, and he isolated lutetium independently in 1907.
How Lutetium was found
James developed faster crystallisation methods, using bromates and double salts, that could separate rare earths in far fewer steps than before. Working on ytterbium from his large stocks, he obtained a sample of the new element at about the same time as Urbain and Auer.
He did not rush to publish, and the credit went mainly to the others. His purified rare earths were nonetheless used by chemists around the world.
Shared the credit
The discovery is credited jointly to these scientists.
Life and career
Born 1880 · Died 1928
James was born in Earls Barton, England, studied at University College London under William Ramsay and moved to the United States in 1906. He became head of the chemistry department at the University of New Hampshire, where a chemistry building is named after him.
Discovered in the same era
Other elements identified within ten years of 1907.