German chemist · 1838–1904
Clemens Winkler
Clemens Winkler discovered germanium in 1886. Its properties matched Mendeleev’s prediction for eka-silicon so closely that it settled any remaining doubts about the periodic table.
How Germanium was found
A new silver mineral, argyrodite, was found near Freiberg in Saxony. Winkler analysed it and found that about 7 per cent of its weight was missing. After months of work he isolated the missing element.
He named it germanium, after Germany. Mendeleev had predicted an element with an atomic weight of about 72 and a density of 5.5; germanium’s are 72.6 and 5.35.
Life and career
Born 1838 · Died 1904
Winkler was born in Freiberg, the son of a chemist, and studied at the Freiberg Mining Academy, where he spent his career as professor.
He was an expert in gas analysis and industrial chemistry, and developed a contact process for making sulfuric acid.
Discovered in the same era
Other elements identified within ten years of 1886.