Vanadium was first discovered in 1801 by the Spanish‑Mexican mineralogist Andrés Manuel del Río, who found it in a lead ore later called vanadinite.

Early discovery

  • In 1801, del Río analyzed a “brown lead” ore from Mexico and concluded it contained a new element.
  • He noted that its salts showed many colors and initially named the element panchromium , later erythronium.

Loss and rediscovery

  • Del Río was later persuaded by another chemist that he had only found impure chromium, so he withdrew his claim.
  • In 1830–1831, Swedish chemist Nils Gabriel Sefström independently identified the same element in iron ores, effectively “rediscovering” vanadium.

Naming the element

  • Sefström named the element vanadium after “Vanadis,” a name for the Norse goddess Freyja, inspired by the colorful compounds of the element.
  • Later in 1831, Friedrich Wöhler showed that Sefström’s element was the same as del Río’s earlier discovery, confirming del Río’s priority even though Sefström’s name “vanadium” remained.

TL;DR: Andrés Manuel del Río discovered vanadium in 1801, but Nils Gabriel Sefström rediscovered and named it “vanadium” in 1830–1831.