Helium was also isolated by the American geochemist William Francis Hillebrand prior to Ramsay's discovery when he noticed unusual spectral lines while testing a sample of the mineral uraninite.
Helium juga diisolasi oleh geokimiawan Amerika William Francis Hillebrand sebelum penemuan Ramsay ketika ia memperhatikan adanya garis spektrum tak lazim manakala ia sedang menguji sampel mineral uraninit.