The Handy Chemistry Answer Book (2014)
History of Chemistry Timeline
Year |
Event |
c. 465 B.C.E. |
Democritus first proposes that all matter is made up of small particles. He also first proposes the term “atoms” to describe these particles. |
c. 450 B.C.E. |
Empedocles proposes the four basic elements: air, fire, earth, and water. |
c. 360 B.C.E. |
Plato first uses the term “elements” to describe the basic components of matter. |
c. 350 B.C.E. |
Aristotle expands on the theories of Empedocles to include a fifth basic element: aether. |
c. 300 C.E. |
Some of the earliest known books on the subject of alchemy are written. |
c. 770 |
Persian alchemist Abu Musa Jabir ibn Hayyan, also commonly known as Geber, develops some of the first experimental methods for isolating chemical compounds. |
c. 1000–1650 |
Alchemists searched for a method to transform cheap metals into gold, an elixir to make people live longer, and a universal solvent. While none of these goals were accomplished, the alchemists did make progress in learning how to use plant extracts and metals to treat illnesses. It’s also worth noting that as early as c. 1000, some chemists were also already beginning to speak out against alchemy, suggesting that some of its goals were impossible to achieve. |
c. 1167 |
The first recorded references to wine distillation were made by Magister Salernus. |
c. 1220 |
An early version of the scientific method was described by Robert Grosseteste. |
c. 1250 |
Fractional distillation was developed. |
c. 1260 |
Arsenic was discovered by Saint Albertus Magnus. |
c. 1310 |
Geber publishes books establishing a theory that all metals are made of sulfur and mercury (which is today known to be incorrect). Several strong acid solutions, still used today, were also described for the first time. |
c. 1530 |
Paracelsus initiates the development of a subfield of chemistry dedicated to extending life, which may be credited as forming the foundations of the study of pharmacy. |
1597 |
An early chemistry textbook, titled Alchemia, is published. |
1605 |
The first description of the scientific method is published by Sir Francis Bacon. |
1643 |
A mercury-based barometer is first invented by Evangelista Torricelli |
1661 |
Robert Boyle publishes a piece of writing titled “The Sceptical Chymist,” explaining the difference between alchemy and chemistry, laying the foundation for the modern field of chemistry. |
1662 |
Boyle’s Law, which relates the pressure and volume occupied by a gas, is first proposed. |
1728 |
The speed of light is determined by James Bradley. |
1752 |
Benjamin Franklin discovers that lightning is electricity. |
1754 |
Carbon dioxide is first isolated. |
1772–1777 |
Oxygen is first isolated independently by both Joseph Priestly and Carl Wilhelm Scheele, and correctly identified by Antoine Lavoisier. |
1787 |
Charles’ Law, which relates the volume and temperature of a gas, is first proposed by Jacques Charles. |
1797 |
The law of definite proportions, which states that elements combine to form compounds in whole number ratios, is proposed by Joseph Proust. |
1798 |
Count Rumford proposes that heat may be a form of energy. |
1800 |
The first chemical battery is created by Alessandro Volta. |
1801 |
Thomas Young performs experiments to demonstrate the wavelike behavior of light by using interference patterns. |
1801 |
Dalton’s Law, describing the relationship between the quantities of components present in a gas mixture and their partial pressures, is introduced by John Dalton. |
1805 |
The fact that water is made of hydrogen and oxygen in a 2-to-1 ratio is first discovered. |
1811 |
Avogadro’s law is proposed. This states that identical amounts of different species occupy the same volume in the gas phase. |
1825 |
The existence of isomers is discovered. |
1826 |
Ohm’s law is introduced, describing the concept of electrical resistance and its relationship to the current through a conductor. |
1827 |
Biomolecules are first classified as carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids (DNA was not yet discovered). |
1840 |
Hess’ law is first proposed, stating that the energy change for a chemical reaction depends only on the identities of the reactants and products, and not on the pathway through which they interconvert. |
1843 |
Heat is demonstrated to be a form of energy. |
1848 |
The concept of an absolute-zero temperature, at which all molecular motion stops, is proposed by Lord Kelvin. |
1852 |
Beer’s Law, which relates the concentration of a sample to its optical absorption at a given wavelength, is introduced by August Beer. |
1857 |
Carbon is proposed to form four bonds with neighboring atoms in molecules. |
1859 |
James Maxwell proposes a description for the velocity distribution of molecules in a gas. |
1859–1860 |
The early foundations of spectroscopy are established by Gustav Kirchhoff and Robert Bunsen. |
1864 |
The law of octaves, an important step leading to development of the modern periodic table, is first proposed. |
1865 |
The number of molecules in one mole of a substance is first determined. |
1869 |
Mendeleev publishes the first version of the modern periodic table, containing 66 elements, and leaving space for yet-to-be-discovered elements. |
1869 |
DNA is first discovered. |
1874 |
The second law of thermodynamics is proposed by Lord Kelvin. |
1874 |
Electric current is proposed to be caused by the motion of electrons. |
1876 |
The concept of free energy is introduced, by Josiah Willard Gibbs to explain chemical equilibria. |
1877 |
Ludwig Boltzmann provides a definition of entropy, along with statistical derivations of several other physical concepts. |
1884 |
Le Chatelier’s principle is first introduced, explaining changes in chemical equilibria upon the introduction of changes in a chemical system. |
1887 |
The photoelectric effect is first discovered. |
1888 |
Radio waves are discovered by Heinrich Hertz. |
1893 |
Alfred Werner establishes that some cobalt complexes involve a central cobalt atom bonded to an octahedral arrangement of six ligands, laying the groundwork for the field of coordination chemistry. |
1894 |
Noble gases are first discovered. |
1895 |
X-ray radiation is discovered. |
1897 |
The electron is discovered. |
1900 |
Planck’s constant is first introduced by Max Planck. |
1900 |
Ernest Rutherford establishes that radioactivity is caused by the decay of atoms. |
1901 |
The Nobel Prizes are awarded for the first time. |