Chemical Element: boron

(Arabic: boraq, and Persian, burah [borax]; BORax + carbON; nonmetal)

Chemical-Element Information

Symbol: B
Atomic number: 5
Year discovered: 1808

Discovered by: Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac (1778-1850), French chemist and physicist; Louis-Jacques Thénard (1777-1857), French chemist; and Sir Humphry Davy (1778-1829), English chemist.


  • Discovered in France and England. Boron compounds have been known for thousands of years, but the element was not isolated until 1808 by Sir Humphry Davy, Joseph-Louis Gay-Lussac, and Louis Jaques Thénard.
  • This was accomplished through the reaction of boric acid with potassium.
  • It was originally called “boracium” by English chemist, Sir Humphry Davy, because it was drawn from boracic (boric) acid.
  • Boron filaments are used with plastics or metals as reinforcements to form composites that are superior in strength and stiffness of either of the other materials in composite.

    • Name in other languages:

    French: bore

    German: Bor

    Italian: boro

    Spanish: boro


    Information about other elements may be seen at this Chemical Elements List.

    A special unit about words that include chemo-, chem- may be seen here.