How Was Lanthanum Discovered?
Discovery Carl Gustav Mosander, a Swedish chemist, discovered the element in 1839. He had come across a black stone that seemed to contain elements he had never seen before. The elements turned out to be cerium and what Mosander called lanthanum. That second material was actually a combination of six previously unknown elements. Isolation Scientists isolated lanthanum from the other five elements in 1923. Mosander is recognized for having discovered the metal.
