Bromine was discovered in the mid‑1820s, with credit usually given to the French chemist Antoine‑Jérôme Balard in 1826, though the German chemist Carl Jacob Löwig had obtained it in 1825.

Quick Scoop

  • The element bromine was first identified in 1825–1826, during studies of mineral waters and sea‑salt residues.
  • Carl Jacob Löwig isolated a brown, bromine‑rich liquid from Bad Kreuznach mineral water in 1825 but did not publish immediately.
  • Antoine‑Jérôme Balard later isolated the same new element from sea‑salt/seaweed residues and formally published his results in 1826, so historical credit for the discovery goes to him.

In other words, when people ask “when was bromine discovered,” the standard answer is 1826, with a footnote that Löwig had essentially discovered it a year earlier but Balard was first to publish and have it recognized as a new element.

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