Original: History Nitrogen ( Latin nitrogenium , where nitrum ( from Greek nitron ) means '' saltpetre '' ( see nitre ) , and genes means '' forming '' ) is formally considered to have been discovered by Daniel Rutherford in 1772 , who called it noxious air or fixed air .
Simplified: Nitrogen is formally considered to have been discovered by Daniel Rutherford in 1772 , who called it noxious gas or fixed gas .