Institutions British Museum Name Charles Hatchett Discovered Niobium Books The Hatchett diary | Known for Discovery of niobium Role Chemist Institution British Museum Awards Copley Medal | |
Born 2 January 1765 ( 1765-01-02 ) Died March 10, 1847, Chelsea, London, United Kingdom Similar People William Herschel, Alexander Stewart Herschel, John Sullivan | ||
Niobium - Periodic Table of Videos
Charles Hatchett FRS (2 January 1765 – 10 March 1847) was an English chemist who discovered the element niobium.
Contents
Biography
Hatchett was born, raised, and lived in London. On 24 March 1787, he married Elizabeth Collick at St Martin's-in-the-Fields, with issue including:
- John Charles Hatchett (bapt 27 January 1788 St Martin's-in-the-Fields)
- Anna Hatchett, who married William Brande
Hatchett died in London and is buried at St Laurence's Church, Upton, Slough, the same church where William Herschel is interred.
In 1801 while working for the British Museum in London, Hatchett analyzed a piece of columbite in the museum's collection. Columbite turned out to be a very complex mineral, and Hachett discovered that it contained a "new earth" which implied the existence of a new element. Hatchett called this new element columbium (Cb) in honour of Christopher Columbus, the discoverer of America. On 26 November of that year he announced his discovery before the Royal Society. The element was later rediscovered and renamed niobium (its current name).
Later in life, Hatchett quit his job as a chemist to work full-time in his family's coach fabrication business.
He lived at Mount Clare, Roehampton from 1807-19.
Since 1979, the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining ("IOM3") (London) has given the Charles Hatchett Award yearly to a noted metallurgist. The award is given to the "author of the best paper on the science and technology of niobium and its alloys."
Family
His daughter, Anna Frederica Hatchett, married the chemist William Thomas Brande.