Editing Charles Hatchett (section)

==Chemistry==
Charles Hatchett's work on chemistry occurred mostly between 1796 and 1806, a ten-year period. In 1796, he published "An analysis of the Corinthian molybdate of lead", resolving a dispute over the nature of the mineral.  In 1797 he was elected a Fellow of The Royal Society, largely as a result of this work. In more than 20 additional papers, he addressed the chemistry of [[minerals]], [[resins]] and [[natural products]].<ref name="Griffith"/>
In 1800 Hatchett may have opened a small chemical works at [[Chiswick]] in London.<ref name="Archive">{{cite web |title=Hatchett Collection |url=https://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/search/archives/db4157b1-2bfb-31ab-b427-d6542ccb28d5 |website=West Glamorgan Archive Service |access-date=15 December 2019}}</ref>

In 1798, Hatchett was asked by members of the [[Privy Council]] to work with [[Henry Cavendish]] and assess "the state of the coins of the realm" to ensure that they were not being adulterated. 
He produced a 152-page-long report in 1803. He concluded that 'there was no important defect in the composition or quantity of the standard gold'.<ref name="Griffith"/>

Hatchett developed a collection of over 7000 minerals, which he sold to the [[British Museum]] in London in 1799. He agreed to organize the museum's mineral collection, but retained the right to remove and analyze portions of some of the specimens.<ref name="Griffith"/>

[[File:Columbite-75444.jpg| thumb|right|The mineral columbite]]
[[File:Niobium2nb.jpg|thumb|right|Purified Niobium, the element Hatchett found and named columbium]]
In 1801, Hatchett analyzed a piece of [[columbite]] from the collection at the British Museum. Columbite turned out to be a very complex mineral, and Hachett discovered that it contained a "new earth" which implied the existence of a new element. Lavoisier had defined the term "element" a mere 13 years previously.  Hatchett called this new element "columbium" (Cb) in honour of [[Christopher Columbus]], the discoverer of America.<ref name="Weeks">{{cite book |last1=Weeks |first1=Mary Elvira |title=The discovery of the elements |date=1956 |publisher=Journal of Chemical Education |location=Easton, PA |url=https://archive.org/details/discoveryoftheel002045mbp |edition=6th }}</ref>{{rp|382–383}}<ref name="VII">{{cite journal |last1=Weeks |first1=Mary Elvira |title=The discovery of the elements. VII. Columbium, tantalum, and vanadium |journal=Journal of Chemical Education |date=May 1932 |volume=9 |issue=5 |pages=863 |doi=10.1021/ed009p863 |bibcode=1932JChEd...9..863W }}</ref><ref name="Marshall">{{cite journal |last1=Marshall |first1=James L. |last2=Marshall |first2=Virginia R. |title=  Rediscovery of the Elements: Columbium and Tantalum |journal=The Hexagon |date=2013 |pages=20–25 |url=http://www.chem.unt.edu/~jimm/REDISCOVERY%207-09-2018/Hexagon%20Articles/columbium%20and%20tantalum.pdf |access-date=30 December 2019}}</ref><ref name="Jameson">
{{cite web 
|url         = https://books.google.com/books?id=UL8TAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA582
|title       = System of Mineralogy, Vol. II.
|last        = Jameson
|first       = Robert
|year        = 1805  
|publisher   = Bell and Bradfute (et al.)
|location    = Edinburgh
|page        = 582
|access-date = 15 February 2015 
|quote       = ...&nbsp;Mr Hatchett found it to contain a metal, which, from its properties, could not be referred to any hitherto known; hence he was of opinion that it should be considered as ''a new genus, to which he gave the name Columbium, in honour of the discoverer of America''.&nbsp;...'
}}</ref>
On 26 November of that year he announced his discovery before the [[Royal Society]].<ref>{{cite journal | title = An Analysis of a Mineral Substance from North America, Containing a Metal Hitherto Unknown |author-first = Charles  | author-last= Hatchett | journal = Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London | volume = 92 | pages = 49–66 | year = 1802 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=c-Q_AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA49 | jstor = 107114 | doi =10.1098/rstl.1802.0005 | doi-access = free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | title = Eigenschaften und chemisches Verhalten des von Charles Hatchett entdeckten neuen Metalls, Columbium |trans-title=Properties and chemical behavior of the new metal, columbium, (that was) discovered by Charles Hatchett|author-first = Charles  | author-last=Hatchett | journal = Annalen der Physik | volume = 11 | issue = 5 | pages = 120–122 | year = 1802 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=wSYwAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA120 | doi = 10.1002/andp.18020110507 |bibcode = 1802AnP....11..120H }}</ref>

In 1802 [[Anders Gustaf Ekeberg]] (1767–1813) announced the discovery of another new element, "tantalum". For many years, there was confusion over whether columbium and tantalum were the same. 
In 1846, German chemist [[Heinrich Rose]] argued that there were two additional elements in tantalite, which he named niobium and pelopium for the children of the [[Cyclops]]. Eventually, Rose's niobium (atomic number 41) was found to be identical to Hatchett's columbium. In 1949, the name ''niobium'' was chosen for element 41 at the 15th Conference of the Union of Chemistry in Amsterdam.<ref name="Contro">{{cite journal |first = Geoff|last = Rayner-Canham|author2=Zheng, Zheng |title = Naming elements after scientists: an account of a controversy|journal = Foundations of Chemistry|volume = 10|issue = 1|date = 2008|doi = 10.1007/s10698-007-9042-1|pages = 13–18|s2cid = 96082444}}</ref>