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Paul-Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran

A man with a mustache and beard, dressed in formal attire, stands against a warm-toned background, symbolizing the historical figure Paul-Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran, a French spectroscopist known for his pioneering work in identifying new elements through flame and spark spectra.

French spectroscopist (1838–1912) who worked from a private laboratory in Cognac funded by his family's wine trade. He pioneered the use of flame and spark spectra to hunt for new elements, isolating gallium in 1875, samarium in 1879, and dysprosium in 1886. He was initially sceptical that a Russian chemist could correct his density measurement from two thousand kilometres away.

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