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The INTERNET Database of Periodic Tables

There are thousands of periodic tables in web space, but this is the only comprehensive database of periodic tables & periodic system formulations. If you know of an interesting periodic table that is missing, please contact the database curator: Mark R. Leach Ph.D.

Use the drop menus below to search & select from the more than 1300 Period Tables in the database: 

  Text Search:       


Periodic Tables from the years before 1800, by date:

9000 BCE   Discovery of Copper
7000 BCE   Discovery of Lead
6000 BCE   Discovery of Gold
5000 BCE   Discovery of Iron
5000 BCE   Discovery of Silver
3750 BCE   Discovery of Carbon
3500 BCE   Discovery of Tin
2000 BCE   Discovery of Sulfur (Sulphur)
2000 BCE   Discovery of Mercury
1000 BCE   Discovery of Zinc
800 BCE   Discovery of Antimony
450 BCE   Classical Elements: Earth, Water, Air & Fire
300 BCE   Discovery of Arsenic
1000   Elements Known in the Year 1000
1520   Tria Prima of Alchemy
1617   Elemental Spheres of Terra (earth), Aqua (water), Aer (air) & Ignis (fire)
1624   Ripley Scroll
1669   Discovery of Phosphorus
1671   Valentinus' Table of Chymicall & Philosophicall Charecters
1682   Digby's A Choice Collection of Rare Secrets
1687   Alchemical Emblem Showing the Four Classical Elements
1690   Newton's Lapis Philosophicus cum suis rotis elementaribus
1700   Elements Known in the Year 1700
1718   Geoffroy's Affinity Table
1735   Discovery of Cobalt
1748   Discovery of Platinum
1751   Discovery of Nickel
1753   Discovery of Bismuth
1766   Discovery of Hydrogen
1771   Discovery of Oxygen
1772   Discovery of Nitrogen
1774   Discovery of Chlorine
1774   Discovery of Manganese
1775   Bergman's Dissertation on Elective Affinities
1778   Diderot's Alchemical Chart of Affinities
1781   Discovery of Molybdenum
1782   de Morveau's Table of Chemically Simple Substances
1782   Discovery of Tellurium
1783   Discovery of Tungsten
1787   Méthode de Nomeclature Chimique
1789   Lavoisier's Table of Simple Substances
1789   Discovery of Zirconium
1789   Discovery of Uranium
1791   Discovery of Titanium
1794   Discovery of Yttrium
1798   Discovery of Beryllium
1798   Discovery of Chromium


Year:  9000 BCE PT id = 809

Discovery of Copper

Cu

Copper, atomic number 29, has a mass of 63.546 au.

Copper had its earliest use in about 9000 BCE, and the oldest sample dates from 6000 BCE. It was discovered by Middle East workers and the earliest sample is from Anatolia.

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Year:  7000 BCE PT id = 862

Discovery of Lead

Pb

Lead, atomic number 82, has a mass of 207.2 au.

Lead had its earliest use in about 7000 BCE, and the oldest sample dates from 3800 BCE. It was discovered by Africa and the earliest sample is from Abydos, Egypt.

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Year:  6000 BCE PT id = 859

Discovery of Gold

Au

Gold, atomic number 79, has a mass of 196.967 au.

Gold had its earliest use in about 6000 BCE, and the oldest sample dates from 4400 BCE. It was discovered by Bulgaria and the earliest sample is from Varna Necropolis.

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Year:  5000 BCE PT id = 806

Discovery of Iron

Fe

Iron, atomic number 26, has a mass of 55.845 au.

Iron had its earliest use in about 5000 BCE, and the oldest sample dates from 4000 BCE from Egypt.

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Year:  5000 BCE PT id = 827

Discovery of Silver

Ag

Silver, atomic number 47, has a mass of 107.868 au.

Silver had its earliest use in about 5000 BCE, and the oldest sample dates from 4000 BCE, and is from Asia Minor.

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Year:  3750 BCE PT id = 786

Discovery of Carbon

C

Carbon, atomic number 6, has a mass of 12.011 au.

Carbon has many allotropes, including: graphite, diamond, graphene, C60, single wall nanotubes, etc.

Carbon had its earliest use in about 3750 BCE. It was discovered by Egyptians and Sumerians.

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Year:  3500 BCE PT id = 830

Discovery of Tin

Sn

Tin, atomic number 50, has a mass of 118.71 au.

Tin + copper gives bronze, and so the Bronze Age.

Tin had its earliest use in about 3500 BCE, and the oldest sample dates from 2000 BCE. It is unknown who discovered the element.

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Year:  2000 BCE PT id = 795

Discovery of Sulfur (Sulphur)

S

Sulfur, atomic number 16, has a mass of 32.068 au.

Sulfur is a pale yellow, odourless, brittle solid.

Sulfur had its earliest use in about 2000 BCE. It was discovered by Chinese/Indians.

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Year:  2000 BCE PT id = 860

Discovery of Mercury

Hg

Mercury, atomic number 80, has a mass of 200.592 au.

Mercury had its earliest use in about 2000 BCE, and the oldest sample dates from 1500 BCE. It was discovered by Chinese/Indians and the earliest sample is from Egypt.

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Year:  1000 BCE PT id = 810

Discovery of Zinc

Zn

Zinc, atomic number 30, has a mass of 65.38 au.

Zinc had its earliest use in about 1000 BCE, and the oldest sample dates from 1000 BCE. It was discovered by Indian metallurgists and the earliest sample is from the Indian subcontinent.

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Year:  800 BCE PT id = 831

Discovery of Antimony

Sb

Antimony, atomic number 51, has a mass of 121.76 au.

Antimony had its earliest use in about 800 BCE.

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Year:  450 BCE PT id = 229

Classical Elements: Earth, Water, Air & Fire

The Greek Classical Elements — Earth, Water, Air, Fire [& Aether] — date from 450 BC or so, and persisted throughout the Middle Ages and into the Renaissance, deeply influencing European thought and culture.

A Greek text Kore Kosmou ("Virgin of the World" - associated with the Egyptian god Thoth - names the four elements fire, water, air, and earth:

And Isis answer made: Of living things, my son, some are made friends with fire, and some with water, some with air, and some with earth, and some with two or three of these, and some with all. And, on the contrary, again some are made enemies of fire, and some of water, some of earth, and some of air, and some of two of them, and some of three, and some of all. For instance, son, the locust and all flies flee fire; the eagle and the hawk and all high-flying birds flee water; fish, air and earth; the snake avoids the open air. Whereas snakes and all creeping things love earth; all swimming things love water; winged things, air, of which they are the citizens; while those that fly still higher love the fire and have the habitat near it. Not that some of the animals as well do not love fire; for instance salamanders, for they even have their homes in it. It is because one or another of the elements doth form their bodies' outer envelope. Each soul, accordingly, while it is in its body is weighted and constricted by these four.

The four elements were used by Hippocrates in describing the human body with an association with the four humours:

Plato characterizes the elements from a list created by the Sicilian philosopher Empedocles called these the four "roots." Plato seems to have been the first to use the term element:

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Year:  300 BCE PT id = 813

Discovery of Arsenic

As

Arsenic, atomic number 33, has a mass of 74.922 au.

Arsenic had its earliest use in about 300 BCE.

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Year:  1000 PT id = 472

Elements Known in the Year 1000

Elements known in the year 1000, taken from this Wikipedia page:

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Year:  1520 PT id = 906

Tria Prima of Alchemy

Paracelsus identified three primes, the tria prima, of alchemy which are related to the Law of the Triangle, in which two components come together to produce the third. Philosophically speaking, Mercury is the Mind; Salt is the Will & Wisdom; and Sulphur is Love.

The three are components or principles of the Philosopher's Stone, and they work potently to transmute any base metal or character into golden perfection. Without these principles, the coveted Stone is ineffectual in its capacity to change vibratory rates.

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Year:  1617 PT id = 903

Elemental Spheres of Terra (earth), Aqua (water), Aer (air) & Ignis (fire)

From the German Photo Library Theosophie & Alchemie, a segment of the macrocosm showing the elemental spheres of terra (earth), aqua (water), aer (air), and ignis (fire), by Robert Fludd:

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Year:  1624 PT id = 965

Ripley Scroll

The Ripley Scroll, an illustrated alchemical manuscript, in English and Latin, on vellum, England [perhaps Manchester?] 1624. This item was sold by Christie's in 2017.

There are 23 known versions of the Ripley Scroll (or "Ripley Scrowle").

George Ripley (c. 1415-1490) was one of England's most famous alchemists. His alchemical writings attracted attention not only when they were published in the fifteenth century, but also later in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. His writings were studied by noted figures such as the alchemist John Dee, Robert Boyle (who is considered to be the first modern chemist), and even Isaac Newton.

There is a copy/version of the Ripley Scroll at the British Library.

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Year:  1669 PT id = 794

Discovery of Phosphorus

P

Phosphorus, atomic number 15, has a mass of 30.974 au.

Phosphorus exists in several allotropic forms including: white, red and black.

Phosphorus was first isolated in 1669 by H. Brand.

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Year:  1671 PT id = 459

Valentinus' Table of Chymicall & Philosophicall Charecters

A table of alchemical symbols from Basilius Valentinus' (Basil Valentine) The Last Will and Testament:

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Year:  1682 PT id = 2

Digby's A Choice Collection of Rare Secrets

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Year:  1687 PT id = 902

Alchemical Emblem Showing the Four Classical Elements

From the German Photo Library Theosophie & Alchemie, a seventeenth century alchemical emblem showing the four classical elements (air, fire, earth & water) in the corners of the image, alongside the tria prima on the central triangle:

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Year:  1690 PT id = 981

Newton's Lapis Philosophicus cum suis rotis elementaribus

In 1936 a collection of Newton's papers, amazingly regarded as of "no scientific value" when offered to Cambridge university some fifty years earlier, was purchased at Sotheby's by the respected economist and Newton scholar John Maynard Keynes. Originally left in a stack by Newton when he left his post as the director of the London mint in 1696, these documents had somehow fortuitously escaped the burning of Newton's personal writings arranged after his death, and were discovered two centuries later. Included was a handwritten manuscript entitled Lapis Philosophicus cum suis rotis elementaribus: "The philosophical stone elements with its wheels", Google Translate.

Notice how the design below also features in the Ripley Scroll, formulated in the mid-1400s. Newton is known to be influenced by this work:

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Year:  1700 PT id = 473

Elements Known in the Year 1700

Elements known in the year 1700, taken from this Wikipedia page:

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Year:  1718 PT id = 90

Geoffroy's Affinity Table

From Wikipedia, Étienne François Geoffroy's 1718 Affinity Table.

At the head of the column is a substance with which all the substances below can combine.

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Year:  1735 PT id = 807

Discovery of Cobalt

Co

Cobalt, atomic number 27, has a mass of 58.933 au.

Cobalt was first isolated in 1735 by G. Brandt.

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Year:  1748 PT id = 858

Discovery of Platinum

Pt

Platinum, atomic number 78, has a mass of 195.084 au.

Platinum was first isolated in 1748 by A. de Ulloa, although it had been used by pre-Colombian Americans.

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Year:  1751 PT id = 808

Discovery of Nickel

Ni

Nickel, atomic number 28, has a mass of 58.693 au.

Nickel was first isolated in 1751 by F. Cronstedt.

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Year:  1753 PT id = 863

Discovery of Bismuth

Bi

Bismuth, atomic number 83, has a mass of 208.98 au.

Bismuth was first isolated in 1753 by C.F. Geoffroy.

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Year:  1766 PT id = 781

Discovery of Hydrogen

H

Hydrogen, atomic number 1, has a mass of 1.008 au.

Hydrogen is the lightest element and by far the most abundant element in the universe: it makes up about about 90% of the universe by weight. Under standard conditions, hydrogen exists as a diatomic molecular gas, H2.

Hydrogen was first isolated and identified as an element in 1766 by H. Cavendish, although it was first made in 1500 by Paracelsus.

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Year:  1771 PT id = 788

Discovery of Oxygen

O

Oxygen, atomic number 8, has a mass of 15.999 au.

Oxygen exists as a diatomic molecular gas, O2; in this form it makes up about 20% of the atmosphere.

Oxygen was first isolated in 1771 by W. Scheele.

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Year:  1772 PT id = 787

Discovery of Nitrogen

N

Nitrogen, atomic number 7, has a mass of 14.007 au.

Nitrogen exists as a diatomic molecular gas, N2, and in this form it makes up about 78% of the atmosphere by volume. The element seemed so inert that Lavoisier named it azote, meaning "without life".

Nitrogen was first isolated in 1772 by D. Rutherford.

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Year:  1774 PT id = 796

Discovery of Chlorine

Cl

Chlorine, atomic number 17, has a mass of 35.452 au.

Chlorine exists as a green diatomic molecular gas, Cl2.

Chlorine was first isolated in 1774 by W. Scheele.

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Year:  1774 PT id = 805

Discovery of Manganese

Mn

Manganese, atomic number 25, has a mass of 54.938 au.

Manganese was first observed or predicted in 1774 by W. Scheele and first isolated in 1774 by G. Gahn.

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Year:  1775 PT id = 515

Bergman's Dissertation on Elective Affinities

Alchemical symbols in Torbern Bergman's 1775 Dissertation on Elective Affinities, which was translated from Latin to English in 1783 from Google Books:

 

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Year:  1778 PT id = 1

Diderot's Alchemical Chart of Affinities

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Year:  1781 PT id = 822

Discovery of Molybdenum

Mo

Molybdenum, atomic number 42, has a mass of 95.95 au.

Molybdenum was first observed or predicted in 1778 by W. Scheele and first isolated in 1781 by J. Hjelm.

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Year:  1782 PT id = 297

de Morveau's Table of Chemically Simple Substances

de Morveau's table of chemically simple substances (updated with modern representations by Mazurs):

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Year:  1782 PT id = 832

Discovery of Tellurium

Te

Tellurium, atomic number 52, has a mass of 127.6 au.

Tellurium caused great difficulty to the chemists who first tried to develop a periodic table, because it has an atomic weight greater than iodine (126.9). Mendeleev prioritised chemical properties over the anomalous atomic weight data, and correctly classified Te along with O, S, & Se. It was only when nuclear structure and the importance of atomic number was recognised, around 1918, that the issue was explained.

Tellurium was first isolated in 1782 by F.-J.M. von Reichenstein.

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Year:  1783 PT id = 854

Discovery of Tungsten

W

Tungsten, atomic number 74, has a mass of 183.84 au.

Tungsten was first observed or predicted in 1781 by W. Scheele and first isolated in 1783 by J. and F. Elhuyar.

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Year:  1787 PT id = 964

Méthode de Nomeclature Chimique

By Louis Bernard Guyton de Morveau (1737-1816), Antoine Laurent Lavoisier (1743-1794) , Claude-Louis Berthollet (1748-1822) & Antoine-François de Fourcroy (1755-1809) a book: Méthode de Nomeclature Chimique.

The complete scanned book is available. (Click the 'page view' button, or here.)

The book lists the several hundred chemicals known at the time, including chemical elements, and it discusses the nomenclature (naming). Although not a periodic table as such, the information contained in this book was state of the art for 1787.

Click on an image below to enlarge.

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Year:  1789 PT id = 3

Antoine Lavoisier

Antoine Lavoisier produced a list chemical substances, that included the 23 known elements. He also refined the concept as before this time, metals - with the exception of mercury - were not considered to be elements. Wikipedia.

A list of 33 simple substances compiled by Lavoisier, from Traité Élémentaire de Chimie, Cuchet, Paris, 1789, p. 192:

From Peter van der Krogt's Elementymology & Elements Multidict web site:

Lavoisier's Table of Simple Substances (1789)
Gases
New names (French) Old names (English translation)
Lumière Light
Calorique Heat
Principle of heat
Igneous fluid
Fire
Matter of fire and of heat
Oxygène Dephlogisticated air
Empyreal air
Vital air
Base of vital air
Azote Phlogisticated gas
Mephitis
Base of mephitis
Hydrogène Inflammable air or gas
Base of inflammable air
Metals
New names (French) Old names (English translation)
Antimoine Antimony
Argent Silver
Arsenic Arsenic
Bismuth Bismuth
Cobolt Cobalt
Cuivre Copper
Étain Tin
Fer Iron
Manganèse Manganese
Mercure Mercury
Molybdène Molybdena
Nickel Nickel
Or Gold
Platine Platina
Plomb Lead
Tungstène Tungsten
Zinc Zinc
Nonmetals
New names (French) Old names (English translation)
Soufre Sulphur
Phosphore Phosphorus
Carbone Pure charcoal
Radical muriatique Unknown
Radical fluorique Unknown
Radical boracique Unknown
Earths
New names (French) Old names (English translation)
Chaux Chalk, calcareous earth
Magnésie Magnesia, base of Epsom salt
Baryte Barote, or heavy earth
Alumine Clay, earth of alum, base of alum
Silice Siliceous earth, vitrifiable earth
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Year:  1789 PT id = 820

Discovery of Zirconium

Zr

Zirconium, atomic number 40, has a mass of 91.224 au.

Zirconium was first observed or predicted in 1789 by H. Klaproth and first isolated in 1824 by J. Berzelius.

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Year:  1789 PT id = 872

Discovery of Uranium

U

Uranium, atomic number 92, has a mass of 238.029 au.

Radioactive element with a very long half-life.

Uranium was first observed or predicted in 1789 by H. Klaproth and first isolated in 1841 by E.-M. Péligot.

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Year:  1791 PT id = 802

Discovery of Titanium

Ti

Titanium, atomic number 22, has a mass of 47.867 au.

Titanium was first observed or predicted in 1791 by W. Gregor and first isolated in 1825 by J. Berzelius.

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Year:  1794 PT id = 819

Discovery of Yttrium

Y

Yttrium, atomic number 39, has a mass of 88.906 au.

Yttrium was first observed or predicted in 1794 by J. Gadolin and first isolated in 1842 by G. Mosander.

Chronology of chemically the splitting of yttria (mixed oxides) into the pure rare-earth metals:

From: CRC Handbook on the Physics and Chemistry of Rare Earths, Chapter 248. Accommodation of the Rare Earths in the Periodic Table: A Historical Analysis
by Pieter Thyssen and Koen Binnemans (ISBN: 978-0-444-53590-0)

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Year:  1798 PT id = 784

Discovery of Beryllium

Be

Beryllium, atomic number 4, has a mass of 9.012 au.

Beryllium is a metal with a high melting point. At ordinary temperatures it resists oxidation in air. Beryllium compounds are very toxic.

Beryllium was first observed or predicted in 1798 by N. Vauquelin and first isolated in 1828 by F. Wöhler and A. Bussy.

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Year:  1798 PT id = 804

Discovery of Chromium

Cr

Chromium, atomic number 24, has a mass of 51.996 au.

Chromium was first observed or predicted in 1797 by N. Vauquelin and first isolated in 1798 by N. Vauquelin.

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What is the Periodic Table Showing? Periodicity

© Mark R. Leach Ph.D. 1999 –


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