Nitrogen was discovered in 1772 by the Scottish physician and chemist Daniel Rutherford, who is generally credited as the discoverer of the element.

Who discovered nitrogen?

  • The discovery of nitrogen is attributed primarily to Daniel Rutherford, a Scottish physician and chemist.
  • Around the same time, other scientists such as Carl Wilhelm Scheele, Henry Cavendish, and Joseph Priestley also studied the same “noxious” or “burnt” air, but Rutherford’s work is recognized as the first clear isolation.

How did Rutherford discover it?

  • Rutherford removed oxygen and carbon dioxide from air and showed that the remaining gas would not support combustion or life.
  • He called this residual gas “noxious air,” not realizing it was a new element, but he clearly distinguished it from “fixed air” (carbon dioxide).

Extra historical notes

  • The name nitrogen comes from Latin/Greek roots related to “nitron” (saltpetre) and “genes” (forming), referring to its presence in nitre (saltpetre).
  • The French chemist Jean-Antoine-Claude Chaptal later proposed the name nitrogène in 1790, once its role in nitric acid and nitrates was understood.

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