Historical Information About Boron

Compounds of boron have been known for many centuries, however, pure boron, as an element, was discovered and prepared by French Joseph Gay-Lussac and Baron Louris Thénard in 1809. Also, independently, British chemist Sir Humphry Davy, also prepared boron.

The name boron comes from an Arabic word meaning "white." This is probably because borax, the most common source for boron, is white.