Anders Gustaf Ekeberg: Discoverer of tantalum

Anders Gustaf Ekeberg (1767-1813) was a Swedish scientist, mathematician, and poet. He was born in 1767 in Sweden. He was partially deaf from a childhood illness but the further loss of an eye (1801) caused by an exploding flask did not impede his work.

Ekeberg studied in Uppsala, Greifswald, and Berlin from 1784 to 1790. After graduation from the University of Uppsala and travels in Germany, Ekeberg returned to Uppsala and became a professor at Uppsala University in 1794.

He initially made his name by developing advanced analytical techniques and by proposing Swedish names for the common chemical elements according to the principles set out by the "father of modern chemistry" Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier.

Ekeberg is remembered chiefly for his discovery of the element tantalum. It was in 1802 that Ekeberg discovered the element tantalum (Ta) through his analysis of two minerals - yttrotantalite from Ytterby, Sweden, and tantalite from Kimito, Finland.
Anders Gustaf Ekeberg: Discoverer of tantalum