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Neodymium discovered by Carl Auer von Welsbach in 1885

Question asked:

“Neodymium was discovered by Austrian chemist Carl Auer von Welsbach in 1885.”
True
Confidence: High Checked on October 11, 2026

Summary

Neodymium was indeed discovered in 1885 when Austrian chemist Carl Auer von Welsbach separated didymium into the two distinct elements neodymium and praseodymium. The discovery is consistently reported across authoritative scientific and historical references.

Sources 59 searched

lanl.gov
  • Neodymium Nd 60 | Periodic Table of Elements | Los Alamos National Laboratory

    He called these two supposed elements “lanthanum” and “didymium.” However, in 1885, one of Robert Bunsen’s students—Austrian chemist Carl Auer von Welsbach— succeeded in splitting up didymium into two elements. He then used spectroscopy to prove that these elements were in fact distinct, and he named the elements neodidymium (meaning “new didymium”) and praseodidymium (“green didymium”). The name “neodidymium” was then modified to “neodymium,” which is what we call the element today.

winter.group.shef.ac.uk
  • WebElements Periodic Table » Neodymium » historical information

    Discoveror: Carl F. Auer von Welsbach ... Origin of name : from the Greek words "neos didymos" meaning "new twin". In 1885 von Welsbach separated didymium, an extract of cerite, into two new elemental components, neodymia and praseodymia, by repeated fractionation of ammonium didymium nitrate.

en.wikipedia.org
  • Neodymium - Wikipedia

    The Austrian chemist Carl Auer von Welsbach discovered neodymium in 1885 when he separated didymium, previously regarded as an element, into neodymium and praseodymium. Its name derives from the Greek for 'new twin'. Neodymium occurs with other rare-earth elements in minerals such as bastnäsite ...

  • Carl Auer von Welsbach - Wikipedia

    Carl Auer von Welsbach (1 September 1858 – 4 August 1929), who received the Austrian noble title of Freiherr Auer von Welsbach in 1901, was an Austrian scientist and inventor, who separated didymium into the elements neodymium and praseodymium in 1885.

  • Carl Auer von Welsbach - Wikipedia

    Carl Auer von Welsbach (1 September ... of Freiherr Auer von Welsbach in 1901, was an Austrian scientist and inventor, who separated didymium into the elements neodymium and praseodymium in 1885. He was also one of three scientists to independently discover the element lutetium ...

digital.sciencehistory.org
sciencenotes.org
sciencehistory.org
  • What Are Rare Earth Elements? | Science History Institute

    Carl Auer von Welsbach was a student of Robert Bunsen—the inventor of the Bunsen burner—at the University of Heidelberg in Germany in 1880. While there, Welsbach began to work with the rare earth elements. As a skilled laboratory chemist he showed that didymium, then thought to be an element, was in fact an alloy of two rare earth elements, which he named neodymium and praseodymium.

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