List of chemical elements named after people

Sixteen of the chemical elements are named after people, fourteen after scientists. One additional element has been proposed to be named after a scientist. Below is the list of scientists whose names are used in chemical element names. Only gadolinium and samarium occur in nature. The rest are synthetic.

Table

The following 14 elements are named after scientists.

Scientist				Element
Name	Specialty	Life	Nationality	Discovery	Name	Symbol	Atomic no.
Johan Gadolin		1760–1852	Finnish	1886	Gadolinium	Gd	64
Marie Curie Pierre Curie		1867–1934 1859–1906	Polish-French French	1944	Curium	Cm	96
Albert Einstein	theoretical physicist	1879–1955	German-American	1952	Einsteinium	Es	99
Enrico Fermi		1901–1954	Italian-American	1952	Fermium	Fm	100
Dmitri Mendeleev		1834–1907	Russian	1955	Mendelevium	Md	101
Alfred Nobel		1833–1896	Swedish	1958	Nobelium	No	102
Ernest Lawrence		1901–1958	American	1961	Lawrencium	Lr	103
Ernest Rutherford		1871–1937	New Zealand-British	1964	Rutherfordium	Rf	104
Glenn T. Seaborg		1912–1999	American	1974	Seaborgium	Sg	106
Niels Bohr		1885–1962	Danish	1981	Bohrium	Bh	107
Lise Meitner		1878–1968	Austrian-Swedish	1982	Meitnerium	Mt	109
Wilhelm Röntgen		1845–1923	German	1994	Roentgenium	Rg	111
Nicolaus Copernicus		1473–1543	Polish-German	1996	Copernicium	Cn	112
Georgy Flyorov		1913–1990	Russian	1998	Flerovium	Fl	114
Yuri Oganessian		1933–	Armenian-Russian	2002	Oganesson	Og	118

The following elements are named after individuals that were not scientists.

Individual				Element
Name	Specialty	Lifespan	Nationality	Discovery	Name	Symbol	Atomic no.
Vasili Samarsky-Bykhovets	Mining engineer	1803–1870	Russian	1879	Samarium	Sm	62
Robert Livermore	Land owner	1799-1858	American	2000	Livermorium	Lv	116

See also

• List of scientists whose names are used as SI units
• List of scientists whose names are used as non SI units
• List of scientists whose names are used in physical constants
• List of places used in the names of chemical elements