German chemist · 1776–1835
Friedrich Stromeyer
Friedrich Stromeyer discovered cadmium in 1817 while doing his job as an inspector of pharmacies.
How Cadmium was found
Some pharmacies in Hanover were selling zinc carbonate that turned yellow when heated, though it contained no iron. Stromeyer traced the colour to the oxide of a new metal, which he isolated by heating it with carbon.
He named it cadmium, from cadmia, the Latin name for zinc ores. Several other German chemists found it at about the same time, but Stromeyer published first.
Life and career
Born 1776 · Died 1835
Stromeyer was born in Göttingen and studied there and in Paris under Vauquelin. He became professor of chemistry at Göttingen, where he was among the first to teach laboratory chemistry to students.
Discovered in the same era
Other elements identified within ten years of 1817.