List of scientists whose names are used in chemical element names

Fifteen of the chemical elements are named after people, fourteen after scientists. Below is the list of those scientists whose names are used in element nomenclature. Gadolinium and samarium, the first two elements in the list, occur in nature. The rest are synthetic.

Table

The following 14 elements are named after scientists.

Name of the scientist	Birth and death dates	Element's Discovery Date	Nationality	Name of the element	Symbol	Atomic no.
Johan Gadolin	1760–1852	1886	Finnish	Gadolinium	Gd	64
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Pierre Curie	1867–1934 1859–1906	1944	Polish-French French	Curium	Cm	96
Albert Einstein	1879–1955	1952	German-American	Einsteinium	Es	99
Enrico Fermi	1901–1954	1952	Italian-American	Fermium	Fm	100
Dmitri Mendeleev	1834–1907	1955	Russian	Mendelevium	Md	101
Alfred Nobel	1833–1896	1957	Swedish	Nobelium	No	102
Ernest Lawrence	1901–1958	1957	American	Lawrencium	Lr	103
Ernest Rutherford	1871–1937	1964	New Zealand-British	Rutherfordium	Rf	104
Glenn T. Seaborg	1912–1999	1974	American	Seaborgium	Sg	106
Niels Bohr	1885–1962	1981	Danish	Bohrium	Bh	107
Lise Meitner	1878–1968	1982	Austrian-Swedish	Meitnerium	Mt	109
Wilhelm Röntgen	1845–1923	1994	German	Roentgenium	Rg	111
Nicolaus Copernicus	1473–1543	1996	Polish-German	Copernicium	Cn	112
Georgy Flyorov	1913–1990	1998	Russian	Flerovium	Fl	114

The following element is named after an engineer.

Name of the scientist	Birth and death dates	Element's Discovery Date	Nationality	Name of the element	Symbol	Atomic no.
Vasili Samarsky-Bykhovets	1803–1870	1879	Russian	Samarium	Sm	62

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