Samarium: historical information

History icon
samarium symbol icon
Samarium was discovered by Paul Emile Lecoq de Boisbaudran at 1879 in France. Origin of name: named after "Samarskite" (a mineral)

Samarium was discovered spectroscopically by its sharp absorption lines in 1853 by Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac in an "earth" called didymia. The element was isolated in 1879 by Lecoq de Boisbaudran from the mineral samarskite, named in honour of a Russian mine official, Colonel Samarski, and which therefore gave samarium its name.

WebElements Shop

WebElements now has an online shop at which you can buy periodic table posters, mugs, T-shirts, games, molecular models, and more.

WebElements poster Periodic table t-shirts Periodic table mouse mats Molymod molecular model kits Periodic table card games

Isotope data Crystal structure Electronic data History Geology Atom sizes Compounds
samarium atomic number