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Cobalt - History

Cobalt - History: Encyclopedia II - Cobalt - History

Cobalt was known in ancient times through its compounds, which would color glass a rich blue. George Brandt (1694-1768) is credited with the discovery of cobalt. The date of discovery varies depending on the source, but is between 1730 and 1737. He was able to show that cobalt was the source of the blue color in glasses, which previously had been attributed to the bismuth found with cobalt. During the 19th century, cobalt blue was produced at the Norwegian Blaafarveværket (70-80 % of world production), led by the Prussian industrialist Benjamin Wegner. In 1938, John Livingood and G ...

Cobalt: Encyclopedia II - Cobalt - History

Cobalt - History

Cobalt was known in ancient times through its compounds, which would color glass a rich blue.

George Brandt (1694-1768) is credited with the discovery of cobalt. The date of discovery varies depending on the source, but is between 1730 and 1737. He was able to show that cobalt was the source of the blue color in glasses, which previously had been attributed to the bismuth found with cobalt.

During the 19th century, cobalt blue was produced at the Norwegian Blaafarveværket (70-80 % of world production), led by the Prussian industrialist Benjamin Wegner.

In 1938, John Livingood and Glenn Seaborg discovered cobalt-60.

The word cobalt comes from the German kobalt or kobold, meaning evil spirit, the metal being so called by miners, because it was poisonous and troublesome (it polluted and degraded the other mined elements, like nickel). Other sources cite the origin as stemming from silver miners' belief that cobalt had been placed by kobolds who had stolen the silver. Some also think the name may derive from Greek kobalos, which means 'mine', and which may have common roots with kobold, goblin, and cobalt.