Chemical Element: gadolinium

(Modern Latin: chemical element; named after gadolinite, a mineral named for Johan Gadolin (1760-1852), a Finnish chemist and mineralogist; rare earth)

Chemical-Element Information

Symbol: Gd
Atomic number: 64
Year discovered: 1880

Discovered by: Jean-Charles Gallissard de Marignac (1817-1894), a Swiss chemist.


  • Spectroscopic lines due to gadolinium were observed by Jean-Charles Galissard de Marignac in 1880 in samples of didymia and gadolinite.
  • Gadolinia, the oxide of gadolinium, was separated by Paul-Émile Lecoq de Biosbaudran (1838-1912) in 1886.
  • The element was named for the mineral gadolinite from which this rare earth was originally obtained.

Name in other languages:

French: gadolinium

German: Gadolinium

Italian: gadolinio

Spanish: gadolinio


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.