Regardless, his alleged quest to turn base metals, such as lead, into gold further fueled a legend that has obsessed many of the finest minds in scientific history. He has since been immortalized in fiction from Harry Potter to Victor Hugo, although there is no actual evidence he ever sought the philosopher’s stone. A 14th century French scribe, he became famous two centuries after his death when claims he had been taught surfaced the secrets of alchemy by a fellow traveller during a pilgrimage emerged. Nicolas Flamel would likely be bemused by his own modern reputation. ut one unlikely place has staked a particularly strong claim on the periodic table. The US states of California and Tennessee are also given a scientific nod. Besides France, Poland, Japan, Russia, the US, Cyprus and Germany all have elements named after them. The Sun, Moon, Mercury, Earth, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are all included. Most parts of our solar system are also recognized as elements. The Frenchman, George Urbain, published his results first and won, or we might have vindobonium instead. Lutetium was particularly controversial, since its discovery was claimed in 1907 by three different scientists, one French, one Australian and one Austrian. The important role of French scientists in chemical breakthroughs has seen three elements named after the country francium lutetium, for Lutetia -the Roman name for Paris and gallium for France’s Roman name, Gaul, derived from the Latin word, gallus, meaning rooster, the symbol of France. While science is universal, many elements were named to mark very territorial claims.
The second of two woman featured, Lise Meitner -who helped discover nuclear fission- was honored when meitnerium was discovered in 1982. Ernest Lawrence, inventor of the cyclotron, and atomic structure expert, Niels Bohr, were similarly rewarded. Curium is a radioactive element named for Marie and Pierre Curie, pioneers in the study of radioactivity. Einsteinium was named after Albert Einstein after it was discovered among the debris of the first hydrogen bomb explosion in 1952. Fourteen commemorate scientists and other notable influencers. The origins of certain chemical element names are logical.
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