Smithson Tennant facts for kids
Smithson Tennant (born November 30, 1761 – died February 22, 1815) was an English chemist. He is most famous for finding two new elements, iridium and osmium. He discovered them in 1803 while studying leftover materials from platinum ores. He also helped prove that diamond and charcoal are made of the same basic stuff. A mineral called tennantite is named after him.
Early Life and Education
Tennant was born in Selby, a town in Yorkshire, England. His family had interesting connections; his father was Calvert Tennant, and his own name, Smithson, came from his grandmother.
He went to Beverley Grammar School. Today, there is a special sign at the school that remembers his important discoveries of osmium and iridium.
In 1781, he started studying medicine at the University of Edinburgh. However, after a few months, he moved to Cambridge. There, he focused on botany (the study of plants) and chemistry. He earned his medical degree from Cambridge in 1796. Around that time, he bought some land near Cheddar, Somerset, where he did experiments with agriculture (farming).
Discoveries of Elements
Smithson Tennant's biggest achievement was finding two new chemical elements: iridium and osmium. He discovered them in 1803.
He was working with platinum ore, which is a rock that contains platinum. After dissolving the platinum, he noticed some leftover material. He studied this residue very carefully and found the two new elements within it.
Tennant also helped show that diamond and charcoal are both forms of carbon. This was an important discovery because it proved that these very different-looking materials were chemically the same.
Later Life and Legacy
In 1813, Tennant became a professor of chemistry at Cambridge University. Sadly, he only gave one series of lectures. He died in 1815 near Boulogne-sur-Mer in France. He was riding his horse when a bridge he was crossing collapsed.
In 2006, a company called American Elements found a new way to make iridium rings without any seams. These rings are used in spacecraft and satellites because iridium is a very strong and useful metal. In 2016, the company started using this same technology to make iridium wedding rings. They named this line of rings "Smithson Tennant" to honor his discovery of the element.
