Sources - Elementymology & Elements Multidict

Elementymology & Elements Multidict

Literature and Web Pages

The original idea for this elementymology page dates from before the WWW. During my study at the University I borrowed from a chemistry student his (old) copy of CRC's Handbook of Chemistry & Physics. From this book I copied the name origin of the elements. Now, about 20 years later, and searching on the web for the name origins, I was initially quite surprised that the information on several web pages (including WebElements) almost literally agrees with my old handwritten notes. I suppose the Handbook has a lot of influence!

Literature on the naming of the elements.

Main works

Mary Elvira Weeks, Discovery of the Elements: Collected Reprints of a Series of Articles Published in the Journal of Chemical Education. Easton, Pa.: Journal of Chemical Education, 1933.
id., Discovery of the Elements, 7th ed., comp. rev. by Henry M. Leicester. Easton, Pa.: Journal of Chemical Education, 1968.
Since early February 2003 I have both editions, 1933 and 1958; the information in it will be used in the updates.
Gmelins Handbuch der anorganische Chemie, 8. völlig neu bearbeitete Auflage. Berlin etc.: Verlag Chemie [et al.], 1925- > 200 volumes.
I have made photocopies, information will soon be included.
Н.А. Фигуровский, Открытие элементов и происхождение их названий. Москва: Наука, 1970 (N.A. Figurovskij, Discovery of the elements and the origin of their names. Moscow: Nauk, 1970).
There is a German edition: N.A. Figurowski, Die Entdeckung der chemischen Elemente und der Ursprung ihrer Namen (Köln: Aulis-Verlag Deubner, 1981).
A website based on this book is Открытие элементов и происхождение их названий.
With Babelfish I have translated this site.
Мир Химии, Периодическая система элементов.
Very much historical information on all elements, but in Russian. Probably the Russian is more difficult style than in the Figurovskij site, since Babelfish has much difficulties in translating.

Other works
Browne, Malcolm W. Elements Get Final Names, from the New York Times 1997. <http://envy.niast.go.kr/environm/periodic/naming.html> (accessed 7 December 1999).
Fairall, Stuart John, Elementistory. 1997. <http://smallfry.dmu.ac.uk/chem/periodic/elementi.html> (accessed 7 December 1999).
Fössmeier, Reinhard, Zur Etymologie der Namen der chemischen Elemente. 1999. <http://www.forst.uni-muenchen.de/OTHERS/AIS/scio/elemetim_de.html> Translation from the Esperanto site: Pri la etimologio de la nomoj de kemiaj elementoj. 1996. <http://w3.forst.uni-muenchen.de/~refo/ais/scio/elemetim.html>. (both accessed December 1999).
Hallet, Pierre. One, two, three... ium! <http://users.skynet.be/phallet/e_123ium.htm>.
Hauben, Saul S., "The Derivation of the Names of the Elements". Journal of Chemical Education 10 (1933), pp. 227-234.
Holden, Norman E., "History of the Origin of the Chemical Elements and Their Discoverers". Paper, prepared for the 41st IUPAC General Assembly in Brisbane, Australia, 2001. On line PDF-file.
IUPAC (International Union of Pure & Applied Chemistry: Commission on the Nomeclature of Inorganic Chemistry), Nomenclature of Inorganic Chemistry Recommendations 1990, Ed. G.J. Leigh. Oxford: Blackwell Science, 1990.
Niinistö, Lauri, "Discovery and Separation of Rare Earths". In Rare Earths, ed. Regino Sáez Puche & Paul A. Caro, 25-42. Madrid: Editorial Complutense, 1997.
Niinistö, Lauri, "Swedish Contributions to the Discovery of Elements." ERES Newsletter, vol. 9 (1998), no. 2 (1999), vol. 10, no. 1, vol. 12 (2001), no. 1. (1999 and 2001 on-line).
Quinion, Michael B. World Wide Words, Elementary, my dear IUPAC: Naming the rarest of atoms. 1996. <http://clever.net/quinion/words/articles/unnil.htm> (accessed 28 November 1999).
Quinion, Michael B., The great element chase: Naming the unrare earths. 1996. <http://clever.net/quinion/words/articles/lanthanide.htm> (accessed 28 November 1999).
Trapp, Dave, Discovery and Naming of Chemical Elements.
On-line 19th century chemical and physical journals
Gallica, bibliothèque numérique de la Bibliothèque nationale de France. (among others: Comptes rendues, Annalen der Physik, Philosophical Transactions, Proceedings of the Royal Society).
The Nineteenth Century in Print: the Making of America in Periodicals. (among others: Manufacturer and Builder).

Literature on the elements with historical information.

Calvert, James B. Physics: Chemistry (on-line).
Cardoso, João Manuel Rendeiro, Soft-Ciências, 1998. The Periodic System. PDF-document.
CRC, CRC handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 55th ed. Cleveland: CRC Press, 1974-75; "The Elements" by C.R. Hammond, pages B-5 through 38. (used is, except for my notes [see above] also an on-line version by Martin A. Ott, Nov. 1999).
Greenwood, N.N., & A. Earnshaw, Chemistry of the Elements. Oxford: Butterworth Heinemann, 1998. The chapters 20-29 available on-line as PDF-files.
SMI Corporation, Periodic Table of Elements SE v3.54. © 1991-1997.
Winter, Mark, WebElements. <http://www.webelements.com/webelements.html>. (accessed December 1999).

Others sources for history and etymology

The 1911 Edition Encyclopedia.
Vries, J. de, Etymologisch Woordenboek. Herzien door P.L.M. Tummers. Twaalfde, herziene en uitgebreide druk. Utrecht etc.: Het Spectrum, 1979.
Webster's dictionary, 1913 Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary.
The Wordsworth Dictionary of Biography. Ware, Herts.: Wordsworth Editions Ltd., 1994.

Literature on the names of the elements in different languages:

Braekmans, Jef, Icelandic Alternatives for the Names of the Elements, Chemical Elements. Revised Version. Sent to me as doc-file by the author, April 2000.

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