Among the earlier alleged observers of Vulcan, the following are the most noteworthy:*Gruithuisen, on 26 June 1819, reported seeing "two small spots...on the Sun, round, black and unequal in size"*Pastorff, on 23 October 1822, 24 and 25 July 1823, six times in 1834, on 18 October 1836, 1 November 1836 and on 16 February 1837, also claimed to have seen two spots; the larger was 3 arcseconds across, and the smaller 1.25 arcseconds.
Le Verrier je 2. januarja 1860 na srečanju Akademije znanosti objavil odkritje Vulkana.