Osann, Gottfried Wilhelm

Osann, Gottfried Wilhelm (1797-1866) German chemist in Dorpat, Erlangen, Jena and Wurzburg. 

Gottfried Wilhelm Osann (1797-1866) suspected its existence in platinum... 

Ruthenium - the atomic number is 44 and the chemcial symbol is Ru. The name derives from the Latin ruthenia for the old name of Russia . It was discovered in a crude platinum ore by the Russian chemist Gottfried Wilhelm Osann in 1828. Osann thought that he had found three new metals in the sample, pluranium, ruthenium and polinium.He later withdrew his claim of discovery. In 1844 the Russian chemist Karl Karlovich Klaus was able to show that Osann s mistake was due to the impurity of the sample but Klaus was able to isolate the ruthenium metal and he retained Osann s original name of ruthenium. 

In 1827 or 1828 Gottfried Wilhelm Osann (1796—1866), a well-known German scientist, found in the Ural mountains of Russia what he claimed were several new elements in platinum ores, including ruthenium. However, after his announcement, nothing more happened and he did not withdraw his claim, as did Sniadecki. Some sources now give Osann credit for discovering ruthenium. 

The name comes from Ruthenia, Latin for Russia. In 1840, Karl Karlovich Klaus (1796-1864) started an investigation to settle a dispute between Gottfried Wilhelm Osann (1797-1866) and Jons Jakob Berzelius (1779-1848) over the existence of new elements in residue from platinum ore found in the Ural Mountains. In 1844, Klaus identified and named the new element. Small quantities of ruthenium are found in platinum and nickel ores. It is used primarily as a catalyst and a hardening alloy for platinum products. 

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