Adapted from an image by Anton Ulrik Berndes (public domain), via Wikimedia Commons.
1746–1813
Peter Jacob Hjelm
Discovered molybdenum in 1781.
Element
42MoMolybdenum
1781
Carl Wilhelm Scheele showed that the soft black mineral molybdenite was not lead or graphite, and passed the problem to Peter Jacob Hjelm. In 1781 Hjelm heated it with carbon and linseed oil and made the metal: molybdenum.
Keep exploring
Where the dates and stories on this page come from; each event on the timeline links to its own source.
- Peter Jacob HjelmEncyclopaedia Britannica
- MolybdenumRoyal Society of Chemistry
- Peter Jacob HjelmWikipedia