When was the metal Mercury discovered?

Answer 1

The liquid element Mercury was isolated by the ancient Chinese and the Egyptians, probably from the mineral cinnabar (mercuric sulfide). Mercury was also refined and used in Mesoamerica by the Maya, independently of the Chinese discovery.

While some early users imagined that it had medicinal properties, the opposite was true because the metal is a toxic poison.

In past societies, the mercury ore (cinnabar) was valued for its red colour. When cinnabar is heated, it reverts to metallic mercury. Mercury gave silver and gold objects a beautiful shine - as well as poisoning the miners, refiners and owners of the objects.

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The original name for the element was "quicksilver" (for its shine and liquid form). The current name may reference the Greek God, Mercury, who was known for his shiny helmet and being fleet of foot. Its chemical symbol Hg comes from the Latin hydrargyrum ("silver water").

Mercury was identified as a chemical element by French scientist Antoine Lavoisier (1743-1794).

Because the ancients had no resources that would identify Mercury as a dangerous and deadly ore, it probably caused the death of many people, especially those who used it as a medicine. In more modern times, dentists used mercury in tooth fillings. But in the mid 20th century, dentists stopped using mercury as part of an amalgam for filling teeth.

Answer 2

Mercury (disambiguation):

The planet Mercury, which is visible without a telescope, was known to ancient civilizations beginning with the Babylonians, Egyptians, Persians, and Chinese. The Greeks had two names for the planet: Apollo (in the morning sky) and Hermes (in the evening sky). The Romans named it Mercury for the Roman equivalent of Hermes, the messenger of the gods.

The element mercury is named for the same Roman god, and was isolated from the mineral cinnabar, mercury sulfide, as early as 1500 BC in ancient Egypt. It was also produced in China before the 2nd century BC.

Answer 3

The Planet Mercury

Mercury is visible with out a telescope or anything, just your eyes. So, it's been observed by people for thousands of years. Nobody knows who saw it first or when that was.

Astrologers first observed Mercury over 3,000 years ago. The first recorded reference to Mercury is in the MUL.APIN tablets, in which it is named "the jumping planet." The earliest copy so far discovered was made in 686 BCE, but the tablets are believed to have been compiled from observations made around 1370 BCE.

The planet Mercury is visible to the naked eye, if you look just after sunset or just before sunrise. There are records of ancient people seeing it, back to the beginning of history. So, nobody knows who discovered it.

Answer 4

Mercury has been known since before recorded history, so it's impossible to answer "who discovered it".

As to who discovered the planet mercury, it was probably one of our prehuman ancestors long before there were any modern humans to record history.

Answer 5

Mercury has been known since ancient times.

Answer 6

Where was the planet mercury discovered? Well, I think space. But if your wondering when and by who, It's been known since ancient times.

Answer 7

Not known; mercury was discovered many thousand years ago.