LAMY, A. (CLAUDE AUGUSTE). - THE ISOLATION OF THALLIUM.

De l'existance d'un nouveau métal, le thallium.

(Paris, Mallet-Bachelier), 1862. 4to. No wrappers. In: "Comptes rendus hebdomadaires des séances de l’Académie des sciences", Vol. 54, No 24. Pp. (1237-) 1287. (Entire issues offered). Lamy's paper: pp. 1255-1258.

First appearance of the paper in which Lamy reported the first isolation of the new element Thallium. A large paper on the isolation was published in "Annales de Chimie et de Physique" a year after (1863). William Crookes was the first to observe Thallium (1861) as he found a new green line in a selenium sample, but Lamy was the first to isolate it and to prove that it was a metal.

"Claude-Auguste Lamy (1820-1878) examined some slime from a sulfuric acid plant at Loos which was using Belgian pyrite and observed the green spectral line. He extracted thallium sesquichloride and isolated the metal new by electrolysis. Only after his discovery, he found out that Crookes had earlier discovered and named the new element, and gave Crookes the honour. Crookes presumed that his Thallium was something of the order of Sulphur, Selenium or Tellurium but Lamy found it to be a metal. In April 1862 he reported to the French Académie des sciences." (Timeline of chemical elements).

Parkinson "Breakthroughs", 1862 C - Weeks pp. 192 ff.

Order-nr.: 47240