Langlet, Nils Abraham

In the meantime Per Theodor Cleve, tire Swedish chemist for whom the mineral cleveite had been named by its discoverer, A. E. Nordenskiold, had his student Nils Abraham Langlet investigate it (53). Although Ramsay announced the discovery before Cleve and Langlet had completed their research, the Swedish chemists were independent discoverers of helium. Langlet s first helium was purer, in fact, than Ramsay s, for he obtained a much better value for its atomic weight (13, 31, 32). The spectroscopic measurements were made by Professor Robeit Thaten (47). 

Per Teodor Cleve, 1840—1905. Professor of chemistry at Upsala. Chairman of the Nobel Committee for chemistry. Cleve and Nils Abraham Langlet were independent discoverers of terrestrial helium. Sir William Ramsay s announcement was made before their research was completed. 

Anon., Obituary of Nils Abraham Langlet, Bihang till Goteborgs K. Vet.-och... 

Helium on Earth For the next 30 years, chemists looked for helium on Earth. Then, in 1895, the English physicist Sir William Ramsay (1852-1916) found helium in a mineral of the element uranium. Credit for the earthly discovery of helium is sometimes given to two other scientists also. Swedish chemists Per Teodor Cleve (1840-1905) and Nils Abraham Langlet also discovered helium at about the same time in a mineral called cleveite. 

Teodor Cleve and Nils Abraham Langlet independendy discover helium in the mineral clevite, the first discovery of the element on Earth s surface. 

Nils Abraham Langlet (1868-1936), in Cleve s department at the University of Uppsala, examined the same mineral. He isolated, like Ramsay, the unknown gas helium in the mineral. He showed, at age 27, that it is monatomic and determined its atomic weight with great precision. Both Ramsay/Crookes and Cleve/Langlet have the credit for the discovery of helium in 1895. 

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