Pitchblende has been known to man for ages, and was considered an ore of zinc and iron. The sharp eye of the analyst Klaproth suspected an admixture of an unknown metal in it, and soon this suspicion became fact. The new element appeared as a black powder with a metallic lustre. It was named in honour of the planet Uranus, discovered not long before by the English astronomer Herschel.

   After that for half a century nobody doubted the truth of Klaproth's discovery. Nobody even dared to question the work of Europe's foremost analytical chemist.

   The element uranium marched through the pages of chemical textbooks.

   In 1843 this triumphant march was slowed down somewhat by the French chemist Eugene Peligot. He proved that what Klaproth had held in his hands was not the element uranium but only uranium oxide. Later unbiased historians wrote that Peligot could be considered the second "godfather" of the element.

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