Timeline of chemical element discoveries


The discovery of the 118 chemical elements known to exist as of 2020 is presented in chronological order. The elements are listed generally in the order in which each was first defined as the pure element, as the exact date of discovery of most elements cannot be accurately determined. There are plans to synthesise more elements, and it is not known how many elements are possible.
Each element's name, atomic number, year of first report, name of the discoverer, and notes related to the discovery are listed.

Periodic table of elements

Ancient discoveries

Modern discoveries

Graphics