Lecoq de Boisbaudran, Paul émile

Boisbaudran, Paul Émile Lecoq de

Boisbaudran, Paul Émile Lecoq de (pôl āmēlˈ ləkôkˈ də bwäbōdräNˈ), 1838–1912, French discoverer of the elements gallium, samarium, and dysprosium. He also made contributions in the field of spectroscopy, including his experimentation with the rare-earth metals.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia™ Copyright © 2022, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Lecoq de Boisbaudran, Paul émile

 

Born Apr. 18, 1838, in Cognac; died May 28, 1912, in Paris. French chemist. Corresponding member of the Paris Academy of Sciences (1878).

Lecoq de Boisbaudran studied various minerals using the methods of spectral analysis. In 1875 he discovered in a Pyrenean zinc blende the element gallium, the existence of which was predicted by D. I. Mendeleev in 1870: Lecoq de Boisbaudran isolated the element and studied its properties. In 1879 he discovered samarium, and in 1886 dysprosium.

WORKS

Spectres lumineux, vols. 1–2. Paris, 1874.

REFERENCE

Menshutkin, B. N. Khimiia i Puti ee razvitiia. Moscow-Leningrad, 1937.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.