Discovery of chemical elements

This page shows the history of the chemical elements. As of September 2025, people have discovered or made 118 different elements. Chemical compounds of these elements are often known much earlier, but an element is not called "discovered" until it has been separated from any other elements.

## Color-coded periodic table 
## Graphical timeline 

ImageSize = width:1600 height:120 # barincrement:0
PlotArea  = top:70 bottom:30 right:10 left:10
AlignBars = justify
Colors = 
  id:gray1  value:gray(0.85) legend:Independent
  id:gray2  value:gray(0.95)
DateFormat = yyyy
Period = from:1665 till:2025
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal
ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:10 start:1670
ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:1665
TextData =
  textcolor:black fontsize:s
  pos:(10,110) text:"Au: 40000 BC"
  pos:(10,100) text:"C: 26000 BC"
  pos:(10,90) text:"Cu: 9000 BC"
  pos:(10,80) text:"Pb: 7000 BC"
  pos:(10,70) text:"Ag,"
  pos:(28,70) text:"Fe: by 5000 BC"
  pos:(110,110) text:"Sn: 3500 BC"
  pos:(110,100) text:"Sb: 3000 BC"
  pos:(110,90) text:"S: by 2000 BC"
  pos:(110,80) text:"Hg: 1500 BC"
  pos:(110,70) text:"Zn: by 1000 BC"
  pos:(200,110) text:"Pt: c. 600 BC–AD 200"
  # pos:(200,110) text:"Au: 6000 BC"
  pos:(200,100) text:"As: c. AD 300"
  pos:(200,90) text:"Bi: c. 1500"
PlotData = 
  # bar:elements width:20 from:1660 till:2020
  align:center fontsize:S width:15 shift:(0,10)
  at:1671 mark:(line,black) text:"H"
  shift:(0,10)
  at:1868 mark:(line,black) text:"He"
  shift:(0,10)
  at:1817 mark:(line,black) text:"Li"
  shift:(0,20)
  at:1798 mark:(line,black) text:"Be"
  shift:(-2,10)
  at:1787 mark:(line,black) text:"B"
  shift:(0,40)
  at:1772 mark:(line,black) text:"N"
  shift:(0,20)
  at:1771 mark:(line,black) text:"O"
  shift:(0,30)
  at:1771 mark:(line,black) text:"F"
  shift:(0,30)
  at:1898 mark:(line,black) text:"Ne"
  shift:(0,10)
  at:1702 mark:(line,black) text:"Na"
  at:1755 mark:(line,black) text:"Mg"
  at:1746 mark:(line,black) text:"Al"
  shift:(0,10)
  at:1739 mark:(line,black) text:"Si"
  at:1669 mark:(line,black) text:"P"
  shift:(0,10)
  at:1774 mark:(line,black) text:"Cl"
  shift:(0,10)
  at:1894 mark:(line,black) text:"Ar"
  shift:(0,20)
  at:1702 mark:(line,black) text:"K"
  shift:(0,20)
  at:1739 mark:(line,black) text:"Ca"
  shift:(0,30)
  at:1879 mark:(line,black) text:"Sc"
  shift:(0,10)
  at:1791 mark:(line,black) text:"Ti"
  shift:(0,10)
  at:1801 mark:(line,black) text:"V"
  shift:(0,10)
  at:1797 mark:(line,black) text:"Cr"
  shift:(0,10)
  at:1770 mark:(line,black) text:"Mn"
  shift:(0,10)
  at:1735 mark:(line,black) text:"Co"
  at:1751 mark:(line,black) text:"Ni"
  shift:(0,10)
  at:1875 mark:(line,black) text:"Ga"
  shift:(0,20)
  at:1886 mark:(line,black) text:"Ge"
  shift:(0,20)
  at:1817 mark:(line,black) text:"Se"
  shift:(0,10)
  at:1825 mark:(line,black) text:"Br"
  shift:(0,40)
  at:1898 mark:(line,black) text:"Kr"
  shift:(0,20)
  at:1861 mark:(line,black) text:"Rb"
  shift:(-2,30)
  at:1790 mark:(line,black) text:"Sr"
  shift:(0,10)
  at:1794 mark:(line,black) text:"Y"
  shift:(0,10)
  at:1789 mark:(line,black) text:"Zr"
  shift:(0,20)
  at:1801 mark:(line,black) text:"Nb"
  shift:(0,10)
  at:1778 mark:(line,black) text:"Mo"
  shift:(0,10)
  at:1937 mark:(line,black) text:"Tc"
  shift:(0,10)
  at:1844 mark:(line,black) text:"Ru"
  at:1804 mark:(line,black) text:"Rh"
  shift:(0,30)
  at:1802 mark:(line,black) text:"Pd"
  shift:(0,30)
  at:1817 mark:(line,black) text:"Cd"
  shift:(0,10)
  at:1863 mark:(line,black) text:"In"
  shift:(0,20)
  at:1782 mark:(line,black) text:"Te"
  shift:(0,10)
  at:1811 mark:(line,black) text:"I"
  shift:(0,50)
  at:1898 mark:(line,black) text:"Xe"
  shift:(0,10)
  at:1860 mark:(line,black) text:"Cs"
  shift:(0,50)
  at:1772 mark:(line,black) text:"Ba"
  shift:(0,10)
  at:1838 mark:(line,black) text:"La"
  shift:(0,50)
  at:1803 mark:(line,black) text:"Ce"
  shift:(0,10)
  at:1885 mark:(line,black) text:"Pr"
  shift:(0,20)
  at:1841 mark:(line,black) text:"Nd"
  shift:(0,10)
  at:1945 mark:(line,black) text:"Pm"
  shift:(0,40)
  at:1879 mark:(line,black) text:"Sm"
  shift:(0,20)
  at:1896 mark:(line,black) text:"Eu"
  shift:(0,60)
  at:1880 mark:(line,black) text:"Gd"
  shift:(0,30)
  at:1843 mark:(line,black) text:"Tb"
  shift:(0,30)
  at:1886 mark:(line,black) text:"Dy"
  shift:(0,10)
  at:1878 mark:(line,black) text:"Ho"
  shift:(0,40)
  at:1843 mark:(line,black) text:"Er"
  shift:(0,50)
  at:1879 mark:(line,black) text:"Tm"
  shift:(0,20)
  at:1878 mark:(line,black) text:"Yb"
  shift:(0,10)
  at:1906 mark:(line,black) text:"Lu"
  shift:(0,10)
  at:1922 mark:(line,black) text:"Hf"
  shift:(0,40)
  at:1802 mark:(line,black) text:"Ta"
  shift:(0,10)
  at:1781 mark:(line,black) text:"W"
  shift:(0,20)
  at:1908 mark:(line,black) text:"Re"
  shift:(0,60)
  at:1803 mark:(line,black) text:"Os"
  shift:(0,70)
  at:1803 mark:(line,black) text:"Ir"
  shift:(0,30)
  at:1861 mark:(line,black) text:"Tl"
  shift:(0,60)
  at:1898 mark:(line,black) text:"Po"
  shift:(0,30)
  at:1940 mark:(line,black) text:"At"
  shift:(0,10)
  at:1899 mark:(line,black) text:"Rn"
  shift:(0,20)
  at:1939 mark:(line,black) text:"Fr"
  shift:(0,70)
  at:1898 mark:(line,black) text:"Ra"
  shift:(0,10)
  at:1902 mark:(line,black) text:"Ac"
  shift:(0,10)
  at:1829 mark:(line,black) text:"Th"
  shift:(0,10)
  at:1913 mark:(line,black) text:"Pa"
  shift:(0,20)
  at:1789 mark:(line,black) text:"U"
  shift:(0,40)
  at:1940 mark:(line,black) text:"Np"
  shift:(0,10)
  at:1941 mark:(line,black) text:"Pu"
  shift:(0,30)
  at:1944 mark:(line,black) text:"Am"
  shift:(0,20)
  at:1944 mark:(line,black) text:"Cm"
  shift:(0,10)
  at:1949 mark:(line,black) text:"Bk"
  shift:(0,20)
  at:1950 mark:(line,black) text:"Cf"
  shift:(0,10)
  at:1952 mark:(line,black) text:"Es"
  shift:(0,20)
  at:1953 mark:(line,black) text:"Fm"
  shift:(0,10)
  at:1955 mark:(line,black) text:"Md"
  shift:(0,10)
  at:1965 mark:(line,black) text:"No"
  shift:(0,10)
  at:1961 mark:(line,black) text:"Lr"
  shift:(0,10)
  at:1969 mark:(line,black) text:"Rf"
  shift:(0,20)
  at:1970 mark:(line,black) text:"Db"
  shift:(0,10)
  at:1974 mark:(line,black) text:"Sg"
  shift:(0,10)
  at:1981 mark:(line,black) text:"Bh"
  shift:(0,10)
  at:1984 mark:(line,black) text:"Hs"
  shift:(0,20)
  at:1982 mark:(line,black) text:"Mt"
  shift:(0,10)
  at:1994 mark:(line,black) text:"Ds"
  shift:(0,20)
  at:1994 mark:(line,black) text:"Rg"
  shift:(0,30)
  at:1996 mark:(line,black) text:"Cn"
  shift:(0,20)
  at:2003 mark:(line,black) text:"Nh"
  shift:(0,10)
  at:1999 mark:(line,black) text:"Fl"
  shift:(0,30)
  at:2003 mark:(line,black) text:"Mc"
  shift:(0,20)
  at:2000 mark:(line,black) text:"Lv"
  shift:(0,10)
  at:2009 mark:(line,black) text:"Ts"
  shift:(0,10)
  at:2002 mark:(line,black) text:"Og"

## Cumulative diagram